


Guiltless

by prettyghostboys



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: (for chapter 10 at least), Ace/Aro Nick (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Has A Sibling (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Has Anxiety (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex is a slayer, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Monster Hunters, Autistic Carrie Wilson, Bisexual Julie Molina, Bisexual Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), F/F, F/M, Lesbian Flynn (Julie and The Phantoms), M/M, More tags to be added, Multi, Non-Graphic Violence, Pansexual Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Has ADHD (Julie and The Phantoms), Witch Julie Molina, all of the kids will probably be ND in some way because i am and i do what i want, everyone else is a monster, of some kind, personal monster lore, platonic affection for the win, theyre all polyam because i am and i say so, yes i gave the boys all full names and also siblings (not luke) and parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27567265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettyghostboys/pseuds/prettyghostboys
Summary: Alexander R. Mayweather was born into a family of monster slayers, destined to spend his life returning monsters to hell his parents told him they belong too.  That all comes crumbling down after he comes out to his parents and decides to prove himself to them. Stubborn he goes into the forest off his families land that he was told was too dangerous to go into.Now, in a previously outlawed area, Alex finds himself among a medley of monsters, learning that they may not be as bad as he was taught to think.Or, to put it shortly, Alex decides monsters aren't evil through the power of love and friendship.
Relationships: Alex & Carlos Molina & Julie Molina & Ray Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Flynn & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Carlos Molina & Julie Molina, Carlos Molina & Reggie, Flynn & Julie Molina, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Nick & Carrie Wilson, Nick & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie & Carrie Wilson
Comments: 47
Kudos: 91





	1. Exploration

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first JatP fic, so feedback would be appreciated!! I'll try and update this one to two times a week, although it'll depend on my motivation levels. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the story!!

Alex was 7 when he first tried to go into the creepy forest just off of their families land. 

* * *

“Alex!” His mom had run after him, grabbing his wrist tightly in her hand, holding onto him for dear life. “What do you think you’re doing?” Alex ripped his hand out of her grip to nurse his wrist, rubbing it gently as he looked back up at her. 

“Just wanted to go see what was out there.” He had shrugged, and he could to this day still remember vividly how many emotions had flashed across his mother’s face, a combination of emotions he’d only seen twice in his life, but the second time is not something he likes to dwell on too long. He could see the initial panic about his curiosity, anger at how easily he was able to be so casual about it, and finally the resignation as she kneeled down next to him, to look him right in the eyes.

“Alex, honey, that place is very dangerous, never go in there, okay?” 

“But we’re monster hunters, why is it dangerous, we can just stop it.” Alex had tilted his head in confusion. 

“It’s too dangerous even for us, promise me you’ll never go in there, okay?” His mom continued to push, her eyes hard and cold. 

“...Okay, Mommy.” 

* * *

Alex would occasionally bring this up a few more times over the next couple years, trying to get his parents to budge on the matter. After two years of asking, he gave up, tired of hearing the same answer, again and again. 

* * *

  
  


The second time he saw the panic, anger and resignation on his mother's face, was the day he came out. Her face was a lot paler than it was when he was 7, 10 years prior. It was only a month till his 18th birthday and his plans to move out would begin, so what was the harm in coming out? 

Apparently a lot. 

His mother got deathly quiet, and didn’t speak a word to him after he told her, but his father on the other hand? That night was very loud. 

His sister, Cressida, was the only one who was excited for him. Proud that he had the courage to come out. And that was why he wasn’t going to tell her anything of his plan. 

He barely bothered writing a note, nothing more than a ‘I’ve gone out, don’t look for me.’ He gathered his monster hunting supplies amongst clothes and snacks and left, in the dead of night. 

He didn’t think anyone would miss him anyway.

He stopped right outside the treeline of the woods his family didn’t dare to enter, the dark taunting at him, just like his father’s words. 

“I need to man up and stop being a pussy? Watch this dad.” Armed with a duffle bag, fanny pack and wooden stake, he made his way into the gnarled trees. 

* * *

After about half an hour of walking, Alex spotted a large shed peaking through the trees. He slowly made his way towards it, as to not alert anyone who may be inside or near it. After making it to the back of the building, ducking around the windows, he made his way around the side, just outside the large front door. He could hear people speaking inside, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He waits a moment, readying his stake before jumping into the shed, grabbing the nearest person, and pinning them to the ground, stake leveled at their heart.

Immediately the room is flooded with silence, there only have been two guys in here. The one Alex was straddling, stake to the heart, had shaggy brown hair, his beanie discarded a few inches from where his head is, his wide green eyes looking up at Alex, perpetually glossy. The other guy standing about two feet away had his mouth open, his teal eyes blown large looking down at the events in front of him, a piece of his dark gelled back hair falling onto his forehead. 

“Normally not opposed to a hot guy straddling me, but at least take me out to dinner first.” Was the first thing out of the brunette’s mouth, which quickly formed a smirk as he began to push himself up onto his forearms.

“Don’t move!” Alex quickly pushed him back down, his heart speeding up, his chest feeling tight. “And no flirting with me! I’m here to kill you, you’re just making it weird.” 

“Maybe we can discuss this before you try to shove a piece of wood into Luke here?” The greaser looking guy replied. “I’m Reggie, once again, please don’t try to stab him.” Alex noticed a slight break in his voice as he began to slowly kneel down, his hands out in front of him. 

“Reggie we don’t negotiate with slayers, that’s like rule number one.” 

“Well, he looks nice! I can tell, Luke, he has a kind heart.” 

“Oh my god not this again, you think everyone has a kind heart--” Alex coughs and pushes against Luke a little harder to bring his attention back. 

“Any last words, monster?” Alex forced out, his voice raspy, as if it was trying as hard as it could to stay locked inside his chest. 

“Yeah, I mean if we’re gonna do this whole thing, I guess.” He cleared his throat. “What are you gonna do, stake me?” 

Just as he finished his sarcastic comment, Alex brought the stake up and went to slam it down, only to have his wrist grabbed sharply, and feel his body yanked up. 

“I tried to be nice, but if this is how we’re gonna play, I don’t think I feel very nice anymore.” Alex turned and saw the darker haired one, Reggie, holding his wrist back, and quickly ripping the stake out of his hands. Alex’s eyes blew open wide, and before he could reach for another weapon, he had his slayer supplies and bags ripped away from him. 

“Awe, Reggie, I had it handled.” Luke sat up and pouted from the floor, his arms crossing over his chest. 

“I’m sure you did, but it was too close for me, now hold him while I go grab Julie.” Luke hopped up to grab Alex’s other arm and pinned both of his arms behind his back. Alex’s parents would be so pissed right now, but he didn’t want to even think about that or how right they were. 

He heard footsteps exit the shed, and felt Luke lean up into his ear, his hot breath sending all of Alex’s nerves and cells into complete panic mode. 

“So little slayer, can we get that name now?” 

“A-Alex.” He stuttered out, hanging his head, not even bothering to fight against Luke. 

“Alright, Alex, who sent you here to kill us?” Luke seemed like he had more he wanted to tack onto that sentence, but he left it at that. Alex took a shaky breath, from anxiety and from the boy sitting on him. 

“No one sent me here.” He could feel Luke about to make a snarky comment but he didn’t give him a chance. “I came here on my own, my family has always said the monsters in this forest were too dangerous, but I wanted to prove that I’m not weak, that I’m still their son…” Alex let himself trail off, hoping that Luke wouldn’t understand what he meant or was about to say. 

“Yeah, this forest isn’t full of dangerous monsters, that’s just a bullshit coverup slayer families came up with, the monsters in this forest and the surrounding area are under protection by the Molina witches.” Luke huffed out a small laugh. 

“Wait..” Alex looked up at Luke, terror in his green eyes. “ _ The _ Molinas?” 

“Yup,  _ those  _ Molinas.” A new voice spoke up from the entrance of the shed, causing Alex and Luke to divert their attention there. Standing over them was Reggie and a girl, her curly brown hair pulled up into a glittery purple scrunchie, her platformed black boots a little too close to Alex’s head for his liking. He assumed she was the Julie that Luke had mentioned. 

A crackle of purple light sparked from her hand and went around the room, changing all of the lights in the room to a deep, dark purple. Alex felt his anxiety spike again as he looked back up at Julie, her previously brown eyes glowing a fluorescent purple, a mischievous smile gracing her face. 

Boy, he was fucked. 


	2. Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alex formally meets a witch, gets to know the boys more and stays the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might try and update this every other day! I'm also working on writing dialogue so there may be a lot of that in this story, but I'm open to hearing feedback!! I'm on Tumblr as panasonicgirl if you wanna reach out and talk to me!!

Reggie couldn’t help himself, he broke the façade and started laughing, his hands on his knees. After regaining a bit of himself, he weakly lifted one hand up to the slayer.

“Oh my god, you should’ve seen your face, that was priceless.” He broke down into laughter once again. 

“Julie, why do you feed into his pranks?” Luke groaned from his place on the slayer. 

“Cause usually they’re funny. Maybe dumb, but funny.” Julie reached over to gently pat Reggie’s shoulder, his laughter shortly subsiding. “And get off the poor kid, you’re like a thousand tons, I don’t think a human’s body can handle that.” Julie teased Luke, a small smirk resting on her lips. 

Reggie walked over to help lift Luke up, the two boys making their way to their usual seats when Julie spoke up again. 

“So,” She started, waving a finger to change the lights back to normal. “What brings you into our area of the forest?” She crossed her arms and looked down at the blonde, as he was shifting into a sitting position, one of his hands pressed against his rib. 

“Wanted to prove myself.” He huffed out quietly before reaching for his fanny pack. “Inhaler?” 

Julie eyed him for a second before she walked over to where his fanny pack rested on the other side of the room, unzipping it and pulling out an inhaler and placing it in his outstretched hand. She gave him a second to take a couple puffs before she proceeded with her small interrogation. 

“Before you go a bit deeper into what that means, may I get your name? I’m Julie by the way.” She sat down beside him on the ground, her hand outstretched to him. 

“Alex…” He hesitantly took her hand and she gave it a gentle shake before dropping his hand. “Why...why are you being nice to me? All I’ve heard is that your family is like, brutal to outsiders.” Alex coughed awkwardly into his fist, seemingly too scared to make eye contact with her. 

“Yeah, my ancestors thought it would be a good thing to get going so people would leave us alone. I try not to be brutal unless I absolutely have to. I’m a fan of trying to talk through things before resorting to violence.” Julie gave him a tight smile before flashing her eyes up to Reggie. 

“Hey! I tried to talk it out first, like we’ve practiced! He was gonna stab Luke!” Reggie’s voice went up a few octaves as he pointed an accusatory finger at Alex. 

“Yeah, gotta say, that is partly my fault, I did tackle him and put a stake to his heart.” Alex gave them a sheepish smile. “You guys are actually a lot nicer than other monsters my family has told me about. 

Julie stood up and offered a hand to Alex, pulling him up and motioning to the couches, waving a finger towards Luke, lifting his legs off the end of the couch and making them rest on the coffee table. 

“Stop hogging the whole couch, we have a guest.” Luke pouted up at her as she sat beside him, his arms crossing. “Now, you said that your family told you about? Have you never actually interacted with monsters?” Julie motioned for him to take a seat next to her on the couch, and additionally motioned to an empty armchair after he continued to awkwardly stand there. 

“Yeah, we’re taken on our first official hunt on our 18th birthday, after years of training and classes.” Alex nodded. “I’m a month away from that, and...something happened, and I want to prove to my family that I’m strong, so I planned on coming in here, killing some monsters and bringing something back to show my family that I’m...not what they think of me.” 

“Well as someone who grew up around them, I can tell you that they’re not anywhere near the reputation that slayers spread around. Most monsters don’t tend to like to harm people. Or not physically at least.” Julie reached over and grabbed Luke’s hand mindlessly, and began to toy with his fingers. “Just like with, y’know anybody. There’s some rude people, bad people, and some people who can only be described as evil, it’s the same with monsters. That whole ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ can be a very helpful saying.” Julie gave Alex a small smile. “Like, most slayers I’ve met are all rude assholes, but you seem like a very nice asshole.” 

“See! A kind heart! Like I said.” Reggie piped up from his arm chair, which he had at some point pushed up against the couch so that he could play with Luke’s hair. “No one listens to me, Luke, I think you need to start listening to me more often.” 

“I am  _ not  _ writing you a country song, no matter how many times you try to work it into a conversation.” Luke gave Reggie a pointed look, to which received a pout in response. Julie noticed that Alex actively avoided questioning it, and instead seemed to zero in on Reggie’s hand in Luke’s hair and Julie’s hands playing with Luke’s. 

“Although, I will tell you right now…”Julie trailed off, waiting for Alex to look back to her face. “If you are in any way against anything you may be thinking is happening right now, I will kindly ask that you get off our property, or I will not hesitate to bring about violence.” Her face settled into a stone cold look for a second, Alex blanching slightly in fear. 

“No! No, not at all!” He exclaimed, his hands flying out defensively. “That’s uh...actually part of why I left home…” He cast his gaze at the floor. Reggie’s hand stilled, settling against the base of Luke’s skull, Julie’s suddenly dropping his hand as she stood up. 

“Oh my god...oh my god!” She rushed over to pull Alex into an awkward hug, squeezing him tightly to her chest. “I’m so sorry, I’m not used to people being judgmental and I just wanted to be ready to defend us in case you were judgmental, I’m so sorry.”

She quickly pushed him out, her hands on his shoulders as she looked into his eyes, her eyes sparking that bright purple as they did earlier. 

“They didn’t hurt you did they? I can go cause trouble if I need to.” 

“No, no, not hurt. My mom stopped speaking to me. My sister was proud of me for my courage...my dad though, he mostly just got loud. No violence, just...hurtful words?” Alex struggled to figure out what to tell her. “He may have said that I need to ‘man up and not be a pussy’ and that’s kinda why I came out here.” 

“To prove yourself.” The three others echoed Alex’s earlier statement, all sharing a joint look. 

“Well, seeing as my family owns this property, making me more the owner of this place than they are, you can consider yourself added to our weird little family. Feel free to stay out here with the boys, I’ll make sure the family knows there’s a new person on the property in the morning. It’s late, maybe you should all go to bed.” Julie talked quickly, pacing around the shed, her hands flying wildly as purple sparks of magic flew around, moving things around to make room for a third person, his stuff settling onto a hook on the wall, amongst various other locations. 

Alex watched all his hunting supplies fly out of his bag, into a different bag Julie was holding. After the bag was filled, she threw it over her shoulder and looked at him, gave him a small smile and walked to the entrance of the shed.

She gave a slight pause, turning to look him in the eyes. 

“Welcome to the family, Alex. Good night.” She gave him a gentle smile before she turned her gaze to the other boys, waving them over. “Come on, I know you want to.” Reggie and Luke took off to Julie like a bullet, encasing the small girl between them. 

“Goodnight Julie!” Luke gave her forehead a tender kiss, his eyes sparkling as he looked down at her. 

“Yeah! Night, Julie.” Reggie gave her a quick squeeze and a friendly peck on the cheek. 

Julie gave a final wave to Alex before she disappeared out the door. Luke pulled the door shut, Reggie muttering something to him that made him laugh, after that it was like a switch flipped and both boys turned simultaneously to look at him, making a B-line to him, pushing him down in the middle of the couch, Reggie on his right, Luke on his left. 

“We’re assuming you have questions?” Luke started off, his chin cradled in the palm of his hand. 

“I’d definitely have questions if I were in your spot.” Reggie smiled at him, both of his hands cradling his face. 

“Uh....” Alex started smartly before his brain caught up with him. “Are you...both dating Julie?” He finally got out after a minute of thinking, figuring that’d be the safest place to start. 

“Nope!” Reggie chirped. “Luke’s dating Julie, but Luke is also dating me. I’m just an affectionate person.” He flashed Alex a megawatt smile, which Alex had a feeling was also partly directed at Luke as well. Alex turned to Luke at that, curious for a further explanation but also too anxious to want to stare at Reggie’s too sharp canines. 

“You can...you can date more than one person?” 

“Yeah, dude, ‘course. Polyamory.” Luke tapped his fist gently against Alex’s shoulder, in an awkwardly-friendly way. 

“Yeah, tell your friends.” Reggie chimed in. 

“That means you can date others? Isn’t that like...I dunno, cheating?” Alex flinched slightly, not intending to sound as accusatory as he did. 

“Well, it can be cheating, without telling the others. But we’re open about it, we communicate, so as long as well y’know, talk about stuff, we’re all good.” Luke explained, a focused look on his face. 

“So, Reggie...are you just gay then?” Alex questioned turning his face to the smaller teen. 

“Nope! I’m bi.” Reggie pointed towards the door. “Julie is too, we bond over being bi-buddies, it’s very fun.” 

“Are you bi too?” Alex directs this to Luke. 

“Nope, pansexual. The short difference here is like...a person’s gender can matter to Reggie, but to me, gender doesn’t super matter.” Luke looked like he was trying to word things in the easiest ways possible, but Alex was still kind of lost.

“Flynn and Julie are wayyyy better at explaining this than we are.” Reggie shrugs. “We can wait until tomorrow for any sexuality and gender related questions, if that’s better?” 

Alex nodded, going silent for a while, attempting to process everything. The other boys took this as a sign that it was ok for them to get up and begin getting ready to sleep. 

“Wait. What kind of monsters are you guys? I can’t seem to catch too many attributes that match with specific ones for you…” Alex asked awkwardly, his eyes flitting between the two. 

Reggie opens his mouth to speak but barely gets a word out before he’s hit in the face with Luke’s beanie. 

“We’ll let you narrow down what we are, but I will give you three monsters to pick from and let you know that we’re both different monsters. Vampire, werewolf and selkie.” Luke spoke up from where he was across the room. “Now would you wanna help pick up a bit? We can spread out blankets and have a huge cuddle pile on the floor and watch some movies.” He motioned for Alex to come over. 

The rest of the night was spent with Alex shooting off questions for Luke and Reggie, and them in turn firing off questions for Alex. They got Alex to confess that he was just gay, no real interest in girls at all, Reggie not so subtly asking if he was interested in trying out a polyamourous relationship, to which Alex shrugged. 

Alex, sadly, was not any closer to figuring out what monsters the boys were. He had thought he had them by asking if the wooden stake he had would’ve killed them. Luke had sarcastically said that it would probably be able to kill anyone, considering he would’ve punctured their lung regardless. Reggie smugly told him that it wouldn’t kill anyone if Julie could help it. 

They also talked a lot about their families, Alex discovering that Luke was an only child, and a huge mama’s boy, and that Reggie was the oldest of seven kids, and the only boy, specifically avoiding any conversation of his parents. When Reggie went to run to the main house for drink, Luke made sure to tell Alex to avoid bringing up Reggie’s parents, and Alex didn’t push for an explanation. 

Overall, it was a very calm and informative night, they ended up knocking out, all tangled together on the floor around 5am. 

Alex smiled slightly as he fell asleep, his last waking thought being that maybe, just maybe, he could really get used to this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry! I'll probably introduce other characters in the next chapter, I'm very excited to introduce Flynn, Carrie and Nick, I had a lot of fun figuring out their stories. Willie will probably come in a little later, not sure when. As for Caleb....we'll have to see, won't we? ;)


	3. Introspection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex is slowly learning more about everyone, Reggie loves his friends so much and we meet three more of our little rag tag team of (mostly) monsters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is just a little late, but hey close enough! This chapter does skip forward a couple days from where the previous chapter left off, so at this point Alex has had sexuality and gender stuff explained to him, and has been introduced to Flynn, Carrie, Nick and the Molina family. This chapter is also kinda focused on Reggie, I've decided I'm gonna switch between focuses for the chapters. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the chapter!!

Reggie Davis was not unintelligent by any means. Sometimes he did lack the focus, or understanding or even the observation skills to know completely what was going on, but that wasn’t really his fault. He knew that, he really, truly did, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t get him down every now and then, and usually that feeling snuck up on him. 

So when he shoots awake, his chest heaving, all he can think of is how he needs to be far,  _ far  _ from where he is now. Fight or flight, they say, and Reggie has never been a fan of confrontation. He’d much rather allow whatever happens to happen and just deal with whatever consequences come from it. 

This is why he suddenly finds himself staring out at the ocean, not completely knowing how he got there. His chest heaving, he let his body sink down, letting his body rest against the sand. It was still night time, so he can’t be too far from the Molina residence, but wandering too far away could also be dangerous, a slayer could be around any corner, waiting to strike. If he was away from the residence, he was away from protection. Not to mention, while on flight-mode, he didn’t think to grab his jacket, so he’d be royally fucked if he was caught off guard. 

He thought about using an ability, any ability, but he was already drained enough. As far as he was concerned, his best bet was to stay put and hope that no one dangerous came across him. He sat up with a deep sigh, hugging his knees to his chest and let his gaze wander back to where the water met the sky. 

Through his worry and panic, he completely missed someone attempting to announce their presence to him, until their hand was on his shoulder. In his panic, he let out a yelp and swung his hand up to smack them away. Before he’s able to fully focus his mind, he’s pulled into a crushing hug, and left looking at none other than Carrie Wilson. 

“Nick, let go of him, he looks like he’s about to puke out a rock.” She scoffs slightly, probably rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses. Reggie watches as the smaller boy pulls away from him, a nervous smile on his face. 

“Sorry, bro. When Julie called us freaking out that someone had left through the ward, and her and the others hadn’t found you, she asked if we’d go out and look, so that her and Luke could stay behind with Alex, since he’s still on Julie’s weird form of probation.” Nick babbled, clearly affected by a second-hand panic. Carrie placed a gentle, but firm, hand on his shoulder, a quiet message exchanged between the two. 

“She figured we were the best fit group to come and find you, given y’know. Everything.” She motioned between her and Nick and then towards the sky, and instinctively Reggie looked up to see Flynn circling overhead. She waved ecstatically before she dove towards him, flattening him on the beach once again. 

“Prince Charming! We found you!” Flynn squeezed Reggie like he would disappear again. He gave a small laugh before petting her wings gently. 

“Yeah, sorry. I uh..” He paused as she pulled away to look at him, her wings pulling taut against her back. “Guess I lost track of time.” He chuckled weakly, avoiding her gaze. 

“Okay, Florian, we’re gonna ignore your shitty lie for now, Julie and them are probably worried about you.” Carrie began to strut away, stopping several feet ahead of the other three. She stared at them for a minute, none of them moving in the slightest. “Are you coming?” She continued on her way as the three behind her giggled, beginning to run after her. 

On their way back, Nick and Flynn delved into some subject that neither Reggie nor Carrie really had the focus to go along with, so they trailed behind the quieter two, Reggie gently elbowed Carrie’s arms. She glanced over to him, away from the ground, her eyebrow tilting up slightly. 

“I just wanted to say,” Reggie quirked his mouth up into a slight smile. “Thank you. I know everything has been weird recently what with Alex, and all of the--” 

“Don’t talk about it.” She quickly turned away from him. “Don’t remind me.” She said, her voice quieter with this one. Reggie nodded slightly, shoving his hands into his sweat pockets. 

“Well, either way, thank you. No matter who or why you decided to do it.” He cast his gaze down to his bare feet. “Consider myself indebted to you.” He gave another small smile as Carrie snorted quietly. 

“Sure whatever you say, not like I care anyway.” Carrie and Reggie continued their walk in silence, their friend’s excited babble filling up the peaceful morning air. Reggie could feel the sun just beginning to rise behind them. He looked back over to Carrie for a second, he almost would’ve believed that she didn’t care, but too bad for her that her snakes gave her away. 

* * *

Reggie arriving back home was welcomed with his two mother hens, Julie and Alex, making sure he was completely safe and unharmed, the rest of the group lingering off to the side with amused smiles or grins on their faces. Alex threw a few questions in trying to trip Reggie up, attempting to get him to reveal what kind of monster he was. 

“Fangs intact?” He gently poked his finger at the corner of Reggie’s mouth. Reggie reached out and gently pushed his hand away, letting his own hand linger over Alex’s for a moment. 

“You realize me and Luke both have supernaturally sharp teeth, right?” Reggie smirked up at him, allowing one of his fangs to poke out slightly, his attempt to tease Alex. 

“Pft, right. I knew that.” They both looked over to Luke, who’s grin was already wide, showing his own fangs off. 

“I don’t see why you guys don’t just tell him.” Carrie rolled her eyes as she took a seat in one of the arm chairs. 

“We have to test Mr. Slay-weather's monster knowledge, see if his family is as good as they say.” Luke teased, his eyes glinting slightly as he looked at Alex. 

“Whatever you say  _ Lucas _ .” Alex sassed back. 

The group continued to hang out, the pressure continuing to let up on Reggie’s mind. He smiled, watching his friends keep up with their antics. He leaned into the back of his chair as his eyes took in the scene. Flynn was laughing heartily next to Carrie, who was trying to act uptight and upset, but Reggie could tell that she was having just as good of a time as Flynn. From there he turned his gaze towards where the two girls were looking, just to see Julie and Luke attempting to teach Alex and Nick the choreography they’d come up with recently. Easy to say that Nick was struggling, with his self proclaimed ‘two left feet,’ but Alex was surprisingly nailing it. 

“What can I say, I’m a quick study with a great teacher.” Alex smirked to Luke gently, who gave him a big toothy-fanged grin. 

“Listen here, if you’re such a good teacher than beanie boy, get your ass over here and help us, cause I do not get it!” Nick laughed loudly, almost falling over for the umptenth time. 

“You’d think with how good your dads are at dancing that you’d be too!” Julie laughed. 

“I guess that’s what happens when I take none of their genetics.” Nick puts the back of his hand to his forehead, leaning back slightly. “Woe is me, Julie, I got all the vocal genetics and none of the footwork.” Nick laughed, slowly joined by everyone else, aside from Alex. 

“Vocal genetics?” Alex asked awkwardly. Nick’s demeanor changed completely, immediately tensing up, his laughter cut short. 

“Oh uh. Yeah, forget I said anything.” He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, laughing nervously. “Oh would you look at that! My dads need me, guess I gotta go. Today was fun you guys, glad you’re safe Reggie. Bye!” Nick waved, quickly making his way out of the garage, leaving behind a confused Alex and dismayed friends. 

“Let me follow him.” Carrie said quietly. “Glad you're safe, I’ll keep you guys updated.” She waved to them, quickly following after the boy. 

“What just happened?” Alex asked after a few moments, glancing to Julie and Flynn for answers. Julie looked to Flynn, the two having a silent conversation before Flynn sighs, having lost whatever battle between the two. 

“He’s, uh, vocally ‘gifted.’” She stated gently, giving a finger quotes. “If you catch my drift.” Her wings twitched awkwardly behind her, and she stretched them out a bit before allowing them to tuck back behind her. 

“Like...a siren?” Alex looked to Julie for this answer. He received a tentative nod in response. 

“We first found out when me, him, Flynn and Carrie were all a lot younger. Having two sirens, our group caused a lot of trouble, mostly harmless pranks. We’re not completely sure what happened, he won’t talk about it, but something happened when me and Flynn weren’t there. For a while Carrie didn’t want to talk to us, and since has been pretty protective of Nick, but whatever happened, he refuses to use his powers. If he happens to need any siren related powers for whatever reason, he usually asks me to do it.” Julie gives Alex a sad smile. 

Alex seemed to have more questions, but sensing the tension, didn’t push for anything else, and instead switched the topic. 

“So, Reggie, a little snake-y told me your middle name.” Alex turned a smirk to the aforementioned boy. 

“I think I also need to leave, I think I have a Carrie to kill.” Reggie moved to get up and walk out of the garage, only to be stopped by a hand on his wrist. 

“Why didn’t you tell me your middle name was Florian? Reginald Florian, what a regal name.” Alex smiled at him, moving into a bow. “Or should I say, your highness.” He cast his gaze up to Reggie from the bow. 

“Oh fucking christ.” Reggie felt his face heat up, immediately turning on his heel and going back to his chair. “On second thought, I’ll sit here and wither away, that seems like a good option too.” 

“How come you get all blushy when he refers to you with prince terms, but not when I do it?” Flynn shouts indignantly from across the room. 

“Well!” Reggie shouts back, throwing up a finger. “Firstly, you’re a lesbian.” Another finger goes up. “Secondly, you’re referring to a completely different prince when you call me ‘Prince Charming.’” A third and final finger is put up. “And lastly, you aren’t genuinely flirting with me, see point one.”

“I will call touché, but only if you tell me more about the prince reference.” Flynn laughed, her wings perking up with her intrigue. Julie leaned in from her place on the piano bench, and Reggie felt Luke settle his hand on Reggie’s back from his new seat on the couch. Alex has perched himself on the arm of the couch. 

“My parents were Disney freaks, I can’t believe I never explained that to you guys”. He chuckled gently. “My sisters are all named after the princesses, but since I was the first kid, they made my middle name be the first prince to match. Prince Charming is Cinderella’s prince, thank you very much.” Reggie smiled smugly. 

“That’s really cute.” Alex smiled. “The themed names.” He clarified at Reggie’s confused look. “Me and my sister also have themed names, though you wouldn’t guess it unless you were my mom or super into Shakespeare.” He gave a laugh. 

“Oh yeah?” Luke smiled. “What’s your sister’s name?” 

“Cressida Rosaline.” Alex raked his hands through his hair. “Her first name is from the main character of the play that has her name in the title, and uh, Alexander,” He motioned to himself. “That’s her servant’s name, so kinda bogus to me, but I think for middle names I got the better of us two.” 

“What’s your middle name then, blondie?” Flynn leaned back from her place on top of the piano. 

“Romeo, annnnd now that I’m saying it out loud is kind of embarrassing.” He laughed and scratched the back of his neck. 

“No way!” Julie exclaimed. “That’s crazy!” She started laughing while everyone, sans Alex again, joined in. 

“Second time? I’m feelin’ super left out today guys.” Alex slid down, so he was sitting on the couch beside Luke. 

“Her first name, fully, is Juliette.” Luke stretched himself across the couch, placing his head in Alex’s lap. “You may be Romeo, but I’m her Romeo.” Luke stuck his tongue out jokingly. 

“I don’t know Luke, you give me more Benvolio vibes than anything.” Flynn laughed, watching the boy pout and giving her a sad look across the room. 

“Does that make me Mercutio?” Reggie hummed gently. 

“Hmm, I think so?” Flynn replied, and began laughing at the moment, everyone, actually everyone this time, slowly joining in. 

Reggie found himself lose focus on the conversation, too entranced by the bright smiles on his friend’s, and boyfriend's, faces. He knew he wasn’t unintelligent, just lacking in focus, observation and understanding sometimes. He also knew that this wasn’t his fault, but he does know that he’s glad that he lacks focus sometimes. 

Sometimes his lack in focus allowed him to observe the smaller moments the others might miss out on, and that was how he understood just how much he loved his friends. He wasn’t even going to point out how he told them so when he said Alex has a good heart, instead he decided to bask in the brightness from the smiles, and the music in their laughter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your guesses on what 'monsters' you think everyone is!! Reggie's and Luke's will remain hidden till I think it'll be the most fun plot wise, but I'll confirm or deny for Carrie and Flynn for sure. 
> 
> Find me as panasonicgirl on Tumblr, or on Twitter at panasonicgirl13! I'll probably be posting JatP related stuff on both of those occasionally.


	4. Observation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carrie tries to sleep. Keyword being tries. Instead, she tries to lull herself to sleep with the thoughts of her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little later than intended! I had like 5 different ideas of how this could go and it took me forever to decide on what way to go. Now, enjoy a peak inside of Carrie's brain. (As she reveals what her and Flynn both are, monster wise ;3)

Carrie was never the best at talking, or even admitting, her feelings. One of the bad habits she picked up from her father. 

On the bright side though, through her avoiding her emotions, she became amazing at figuring out other people’s. Her observation skills were through the roof, which helped her through her everyday life more than she’d like to admit. Queuing for her to react a certain way, change how she talked to someone, or just when she should stop and just look pretty. It may not be the best skill, but it helped her more times than she could count. 

There’s only one group of people she’s learned she can be herself around, and surprisingly enough to her father, that group includes a monster slayer. Well, she could be herself around them, if she wasn’t too terrified to let her walls down. These were the kinds of things that drifted through her mind as she tried to find a peaceful thought to focus on while she slept, and honestly, her friends have been that peaceful thought more than a few times. Not that she’d ever tell them that, of course. She’d never hear the end of it. 

Carrie knew they wouldn’t mean it in a mean or hurtful way, but giving up anything that could be used to harm her in any way sent so many alarm bells off in her head. She gently shook her head to get rid of the thought, a small hiss made its way closer to her in a calming, loving way. 

“I know, Snuggles, thank you.” She smiled slightly as she gave the snake a small kiss, receiving a small lick on her cheek in return. Another hiss came from her other side, causing Carrie to give a slight laugh. “Jealous, Noodles? Come here.” She gave her second snake a small kiss, once again receiving one in return. 

She smiled, petting a snake with each hand. They were the only beings she was always herself around, when they were alone that is. After a little while of petting, both Noodles and Snuggles seemed to fall back asleep, leaving Carrie alone with her thoughts once again. 

She really tried to focus on her friends this run, starting off with Nick. He’d stuck around her more than anyone else. Maybe due to the fact that their parents were pretty close, but he always knew she was good, knew that she could be better. Should be better, in her opinion. She ultimately gave him a lot of credit for sticking around, and for how much he’s grown just in the past couple years. Ever since his accident, he’s avoided using his powers as much as possible. She couldn’t blame him for that, there was a reason she always wore sunglasses around others after all. 

She, unlike him, seemed to have come to terms with the phrase ‘accidents happen.’ But, everyone reacted to trauma differently, she supposed. She built walls, he threw himself into dancing as opposed to singing. To each their own. 

Julie was always helpful too. She did a great job helping Nick to learn different dances and such. With her around him as much as Carrie was, probably didn’t hurt either. Having a Molina witch  _ and  _ a Wilson gorgon always around you? No one really wanted to even  _ try  _ looking at you the wrong way. 

Luke and Reggie had their own hand too in helping. Not only Nick, but everyone. They both made Julie so happy. Romantically from Luke, and in a brotherly way from Reggie. Through their shenanigans they always managed to cheer up everyone, no matter what. Especially with their friendly bickering. Carrie always found their bickering to be so adorable. Usually it was about Reggie’s impulses, or Luke’s hatred for country music, but her point still stands. 

Oddly enough, they were her favorite pair of people to observe and analyze. How Reggie gets when anybody gets the slightest bit loud when they’re upset and how quick Luke is to shield him. Luke’s defiance to adults and how Reggie will take the wheel and up the suck-up factor. The best way she could think to define the pair of boys was in a beauty and the beast type duo. The outwardly aggressive and defiant one, with the kind hearted, emotional one? Upon thinking of it, Carrie realized that Julie also fit the ‘beauty’ trope, but she supposed they all deserved each other. They all deserved each other, and Carrie didn’t think she deserved them. She knew they’d disagree with her, and she could think fondly on that fact at least. 

Alex, from what Carrie could tell, was going to fit in just fine. Being just as bicker-y as Luke and Reggie, as down to dance as Nick and as parent-friend-ish as Julie, not even to mention the sass levels that he and Flynn both had, it was a chaotic combination. Carrie even found that he took her biting remarks in stride, sometimes returning with one of his own, a quality she enjoyed in her friends. 

Flynn, though, was different. Carrie wasn’t too sure how yet, but she’d been focusing more on Flynn lately in an attempt to figure it out. 

Carrie let thoughts of the angel flash through her head as she felt the slow tug of sleep on the edge of her mind. The feeling of her warm, solid brown eyes felt, how the glow of her halo made everything about her just the slightest bit brighter, like her presence required the attention of everyone in the room. How Carrie didn’t mind sharing the spotlight with her. She thought that Flynn might be hiding something, but what exactly was still lost to Carrie, but she planned on figuring it out, and soon hopefully. 

As Carrie finally welcomed the tug of sleep, just outside her reach an answer tugged at the back of her mind, but it was too late to follow the new tug, as her brain calmed down and her heart rate steadied in her chest. 

She didn’t even catch a figure appearing in her room as she fell into a deep, dark slumber with a sweet, gentle smile on her face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carrie is indeed a gorgon, and Flynn is an angel. Yes that was inspired by Jadah's costume picture with Madison, but also because I think Flynn is an angel of a character. But oooooh, who's the mysterious figure? Will we meet them in the next chapter?? Who's to say :3
> 
> Find me on tumblr at panasonicgirl, and on twitter as panasonicgirl13, I post more on twitter than I do on tumblr, so you'll find tweets about the story and some rants about stuff from my life on there too!


	5. Trepidation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet a hero, or well. That's what he used to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh? We get to meet the mystery figure from the end of the last chapter? I wonder who it is? Hmm...

Popping in and out of numerous places around LA and Hollywood had become a hobby of his at this point, following his own impulses, or the desire of others. He’d like to think he was his own person at times, but he simply knew it wasn’t true. 

Usually, when he got to decide where to go, it was to visit his sister and the family she’s made. He missed her, so much he knew his heart was aching. Or it would, if his heart was real, but not having an actual real beating heart came with the territory he assumed. The ringing in his ears, as well. At least he really hoped, and not that it was something he caused to himself. 

He’d been like this for, well, he wasn’t sure how long. Days, maybe weeks, maybe months. Years? He really didn’t know. Time was weird to him with how he was now, it went by so quick he didn’t even notice. At least, he wouldn’t have if it weren’t how much older his sister looks than he originally remembered. 

The job he was on now was a task given to him from his boss, from the people who contracted his boss. So, his boss’ bosses gave him this job, indirectly. This business was very confusing at times. His boss insisted that he was the one pulling the strings at all times, but it didn’t really look that way. Either way, he was never a fan of the tasks his boss specially requested him to do. Especially the ones having to do with gathering intel. 

He didn’t even know what type of intel was needed, this girl was just sleeping, This felt incredibly invasive, but he had to find something. He couldn’t leave empty handed, not again. He quietly made his way around her room, looking for anything that could help him. 

Beside the girl’s bed, her phone lit up, casting a gently blue glow around the room, and he found himself drawn to it. The lock screen showed that there were two unread messages, and he slid his finger across to unlock it. Surprisingly, there was no password lock and the message popped up. 

**Alex Slayweather:** Worked more on the dance, this better? 

**Alex Slayweather:** _Video Message_

Not being able to help himself, he tapped on the video, just barely managing to turn the volume down to the lowest setting. 

The video started up, a blonde boy staring at the camera, two boys in the background, both sitting on a piano bench. One boy faced the camera, an acoustic guitar in hand and a cocky smirk on his face. The darker haired boy on the bench faced the piano, his hand visible to his sides, hovering over the keys. 

“Ready, Jules?” The blonde boy asked, brushing his bangs out of his face. 

  
“Go ahead, Alex.” A girl’s phone said, not too far from the microphone he guessed, as her voice was the loudest. Alex nodded back to the boy with the guitar, who began to strum a tune, piano boy not too far behind. 

That’s when Alex began to dance to the song the others were playing, and he didn’t know anything about dancing, but he can’t say he wasn’t upset at a cute boy dancing. He was entranced by how he managed to maneuver his body, throwing his limbs, swinging his body, all with a purpose and foreknowledge. He knew what he was doing, and he knew he was good at it, there was no denying that much. 

The video ended with the two boys getting up from the piano as Alex was bent over, hands on his knees. The boys whooped and hollered, congratulating their friend on a job well done, and the camera was shaking, and he guessed that she was clapping for the boy. 

He found himself smiling at the video, quickly sending it to his own phone and deleting the trace of the conversation from her phone. He locked the phone and set it down. 

Willing himself to pop onto the sidewalk outside of the girl’s house, he pulled out his own phone and watched the video a couple more times, before finally calling his boss. 

The phone rang one, two, three times before there was a click.

“Yes? Did you find something?” 

“I believe so, sir. What was the name of who we’re looking for again?” He winced, hoping he wouldn’t get yelled at. He heard a heavy sigh from his boss. 

“Alex Mayweather.” The contact name from the girl's phone flashed in his brain. 

“That’s what I thought. I’ve caught a lead. I’ll keep you updated, sir.” 

“That’s what I like to hear!” He could hear the bitter happiness bleed through the phone. 

“I’ll go follow it right now sir, is there anything else I could do for you?” 

“Yes, there is.” 

“Yes, sir?” 

“When you find Alex, I want you to find out who else is with him, and let me know. I have...suggestions about his well being, and they’re concerned that he’s with a... _ toxic _ crowd.” He felt sick to his stomach, not liking what his boss was implying. 

“Yes, I’ll let you know as soon as I do, sir.” 

“Good boy, William. Now, you may do whatever you’d like, consider it a treat for finding a lead for me.” 

“Thank you sir, I’ll get on that lead first thing in the morning.” 

“Good to hear.” 

Dead noise. The call had ended, his screen went dark. The ringing in his ears continued, as it always did. It was too quiet.

He popped into a pastel blue room, decorated in many family pictures, old art projects, amongst other stuff hanging on the wall. Faint music floated through the room, the ringing in his ears now almost nonexistent.

  
He made his way over to the worn beige couch in the middle of the room and sank down. His eyes focused on the broken skateboard that hung in the center of the wall, a photograph framed above it, a cracked helmet sat on the table beneath the board. 

The photograph depicted two teenagers, both bearing large grins, and long brown hair, with two fingers up behind each of their heads. One of the teens wore a helmet, the same one on the table, over his hair, the other teen remained helmetless. Both also had jeans and a tie-dye shirt on. He tore his eyes away from the photo, looking back to the helmet on the table. 

He sat up quickly, noticing a small piece of paper under the helmet. He walked over, pulling it out slowly. He opened the letter and read it quietly, before folding it back up and tucking it back under. He brushed his hand over the crack on the helmet, sighing to himself slightly. 

He popped, this time into the open night air. This time, he welcomed the ringing in his ears. He planted himself onto the grass, looking up at the stone statue in front of him. 

“What have I gotten myself into now.” He brushed his fingers over the words, tracing each letter and number. He rested his forehead against the cold rock, the words in front of him etched into the back of his eyelids. 

‘William Ash Koston 

January 21, 1990 - September 10, 2008

A beloved son, brother and hero.’ 

He didn’t feel like a hero, now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Willie!! We've now met all of the wacky teens, now just to meet the adults who seem to just let the teens hang out. I may start posting art of the story onto my twitter, and I definitely talk about this story, along with other things, way too much. I will also be working on the next chapter during my thanksgiving dinner tomorrow since I'll be with my sister and her fiancee's friends, and I don't know any of them, oops. 
> 
> Anyway! Twitter is @panasonicgirl13, and tumblr is panasonicgirl, come be my friend! I always enjoy people to ramble too!


	6. Admission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex calls up Nick for a conversation about feeling, they're both just little blonde, anxious balls of energy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I went through multiple ideas on what to finally do with this chapter, along with working on further universe building. More on that in the notes at the bottom, but enjoy todays chapter and thank you all for sticking around, or if you're new, for joining for my story!! <3

Nick wasn’t sure how to react, normally this situation was happening in the reverse of it now. He didn’t think he was prepared for this sort of situation.

When Alex had texted him and asked him to come over, he was thinking it’d been him reaching out and inviting to hang out with him, Luke and Reggie. The girls always had their ‘Girls Only’ nights, and all he could say was that he wanted a ‘Guys Only’ night. Coming into the garage and just seeing Alex by himself, may have shot Nick’s nerves through the ceiling. 

“Hey! You wanted to see me?” Nick started, giving Alex an awkward, crooked smile. 

“Yeah, yeah. I umm…” Alex stopped his pacing for a moment, his hands gesturing wildly in the air. “I wanted to ask you something?” The taller boy looked to him, red beginning to crawl up his throat, which shocked Nick to his core. 

“If this is uhh…” Nick floundered, he was not good with emotion talk, he was completely clueless on comforting people. “If this is about feelings or emotions, I don’t know if I’m the right dude for the job.” 

Alex only gave him a small nod in reply, continuing his pacing. Nick watched him for a little while, and Nick could swear he was feeling the nerves and anxiety radiating off of the hunter. 

“Have you tried to talk to Julie?” Nick offered, watching as Alex’s head snapped towards him, and suddenly Alex’s hands were clung tightly to Nick’s biceps. 

“Absolutely not. Under no circumstances does anybody find out about this.” Nick stared into Alex’s blue eyes, iced with panic. 

“Of course man, I don’t tell them if you don’t want me to, but honestly you’re kinda freaking me out here.” Nick laughed anxiously, the taller boy quickly peeling away from him. 

“Ok, so I’m sure you already know I’m gay. I think I’ve made it obvious, and everyone in this group seems to also be very accepting of that, so I don’t see why you wouldn’t be.” His pacing has started back up, but rather than stop him, Nick settled into one of the armchairs. “But through being around this group I’ve learned a lot more about sexuality and gender stuff than anyone else in my life had told me, but that’s not too surprising considering how anti-all-of-this my family is.” 

Alex continued to ramble about his family being worse than he originally thought, speeding down a rabbit hole of guilt and anxiety and Nick finally reached out and stopped the other boy. 

“I’m sorry your family isn’t accepting, Alex. It’ll get better, you have us, we will protect you and care for you like you’re family.” Nick laid his hand on Alex’s shoulder, albeit awkwardly because of how much taller Alex was. “I’ll try to help you out as much as I can, but I can’t promise the best solutions, I’m not the best with most emotion or feeling based things. That’s what I have Carrie for.” Nick offered the slight joke, hoping to ease a bit of their nerves. It seemed to do the trick as Alex’s body seemed to put itself at ease, and they moved over to the couch. 

“So…” Alex started, fidgeting with the rings on his fingers. Nick stayed silent, his hand still resting gently on his shoulder. “I think I may have feelings…” The red crawling up Alex’s neck finally reached his face and began to color his ears. “Uh, for Luke. But not just Luke, for Reggie also?” Alex looked over at Nick, trying to study his face. 

“Thank you for trusting me enough to come to me about this.” Nick smiled at him, pulling Alex into a gentle hug. The two blonde boys sat there for a few minutes in each other’s arms, before Nick pulled away slightly. “You know it’s ok that you have feelings for the both of them, right? You’re not wrong, or broken or anything like that for liking more than one person.” 

Alex just nodded, his eyes tearing up a bit and Nick allowed him to lean into him once more. He wasn’t too sure what to do at this point, but he figured it was safer to just be here to support Alex and listen whenever he was ready. So there they sat, Alex leaning into Nick’s arms, quietly. 

It was a little while before Alex spoke, dried tear tracks down his face. The sadness was gone and was instead replaced with a calm, but happy smile. 

“Thank you. I know you said you’re not good with this stuff, but I appreciate you still listening. Even if you don’t think you helped, just being supportive is helpful enough.” Alex cleared his throat gently. “Now uh…you’ve known them for longer than I have, any idea on how I should tell them or any like, romantic gestures I could do?” 

“Oh boy…” Nick laughed gently, his hand carding through his hair. “Ok so, take whatever I say with a grain of salt. For this, you may wanna go to Carrie or Flynn, they’re better with anything showy. I think low-key gestures would be better? I’m not interested in dating, ever, but I think smaller and more personal would have more meaning to it. Just getting them together and having dinner with their favorite foods or snacks and telling them could be enough, they’re pretty simple people.” 

“Dinner with their favorite foods…” Alex hummed before the color quickly drained from his face “Wait if one of them is a vampire shouldn’t I avoid garlic?” 

“No, no. That’s not a real thing.” Nick gave him a laugh. “For the dinner with them, maybe give up on trying to figure out what they are? I can promise that foodwise you don’t really have much to worry about? Actually, you may want to avoid garlic. I think Luke’s allergic to it, and it usually just upsets Reg’s stomach. Not that they’d care, they still generally eat it, but it could still show you asked about something for them, yknow?” Alex nodded, watching as Nick stood up. 

“I’m gonna head out, don’t want my Dads worrying too much about where I’ve gone.” Nick paused at the door, turning back to the taller boy. “Hey Alex? Everything you think you know about monsters...may not be right. I don’t know if anyone has mentioned that to you, but a lot of stuff humans and hunters think they know was all...falsified, for protection. Trust me when I say that the most important thing you can do for them is be there for them, no matter what the relationship is. Keep yourself safe.” Nick gave him a small nod and a wave before he exited the garage and making his way off the Molina residence, completely unaware of the creature entering at the same moment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional story stuff: I have been working on a text chapter, that's what this one was intended to be before I scrapped the idea, but I'm considering adding to it and posting it as it's own single chapter work, with each text convo happening throughout the story to add some more looks into the characters. I've also been working on developing my own versions of monster lore, although currently its only a few monsters I've done. I'm not totally sure I'll post that, unless it's something you guys would want to see! So let me know in the comments, and I may start posting those as well. 
> 
> Other than that, you can find me on social media, now under a new username! Twitter, tumblr, instagram, etc will be @prettyghostboys!! I'd love to have more JaTP friends to babble to!


	7. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie and Luke come back from a date with Julie to find an anxious Alex in their shared garage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :0! Second day in a row with a chapter?? I was just too excited to post this chapter, and also have 2 more lined up because I got very inspired to write today. Enjoy today's chapter!!

Coming home from a beach date with Reggie and Julie, Luke did not expect to see Alex pacing in the garage, the coffee table loaded with snacks and drinks, along with a small stack of movies and games ready by the TV. 

“What’s all this?” Luke’s mouth speaks before his brain has time to catch up, watching as Alex nearly tripped, quickly spinning around to look at them, his face quickly turning to pink. 

“Oh! You guys are back, um…” Alex studied the two of them for a moment before throwing his arm out towards the couch. “I wanted to talk to you guys, and so I may have asked Nick how to do it and this is what he suggested and it seemed like the best idea.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Julie may also be a bit in on it, I asked her to distract you guys till I finished setting up.” 

“Awe, this is sweet.” Reggie smiled at Alex, giving Luke’s hand a gentle squeeze and made his way over to the couch. Luke let his eyes scan over everything once again, finally taking in the scene. 

“This is our favorite stuff.” He had meant for it to come out more as a question, but his mouth continued to have a mind of its own. 

“Yes. Yup. No, yeah.” Alex babbled, watching Luke slowly make his way to sit over by Reggie, before the blonde sat at the opposite end of the other couch. 

“So, you wanted to talk to us?” Reggie prompted, his hand finding Luke’s and tangling together. Luke watched as Alex’s eyes zeroed in on their hands. 

“Ok, so I think I may be that thing that you guys are?” Alex closed his eyes tightly for a second, his hands squeezing into fists. 

"Polyamorous?" Luke filled in. He watched Alex nod, cracking his eyes open slowly.

“Yeah, that.” Alex took a deep breath and continued. “I may also have a crush on the both of you guys?” His voice pitched up an octave as he ended his statement, anxiously turning it into a question. Luke leaned over Reggie to place his hand on Alex’s knee in a manner he hoped was comforting. 

“Is that a statement or a question?” Luke gave him a small, teasing smile. 

“A statement. I have a crush, on the both of you.” He nodded, to emphasize his point. Reggie and Luke exchanged a look, both giving each other a small, trusting smile. 

“Alright.” Reggie smiled, lacing his free hand with Alex’s, pulling it out of the fist it was previously in. 

“Alright?” Alex looked at them, eyes confused and pleading. 

“Yeah, we may have kinda noticed. We talked it over with Julie already, we’ve honestly been waiting for whenever you realized or were ready to talk to us.” Luke laughed, patting Alex’s thigh gently. 

“You KNEW?” Reggie and Luke couldn’t help but laugh, slowly moving themselves and Alex, so that the boy was in the middle. 

“Yeah, you’re not as lowkey as you think you are.” Reggie teased. Alex let out a groan, burying his face into his hands, leaning into Luke. 

“You guys are the worst, why do I like you?” He muttered, but the boys knew there was no real venom behind his words.

“This was a very sweet gesture though, Alex. Who knew Nick was a hopeless romantic?” Reggie hummed, leaning into the blonde. 

“We’ll have to thank him tomorrow.” Luke smirked. “But for now, let’s enjoy the snacks and stuff. Is that Star Wars?” Luke pointed to the stack of movies, watching as Reggie rocketed to it with a squeal, quickly putting the movie on. The brunette turned and pressed a soft kiss to Alex’s cheek. 

“Thank you for this, it’s just the right mix for me and Reg.” The previously mentioned boy started the movie, quickly coming back and wiggling into a comfortable position on Alex’s other side. 

They watched Star Wars, just the one much to Reggie’s disappointment, before they just continued snacking with a casual conversation. Between cheek kisses, mouth fulls of food and mocking Luke for his weird choice of snack combos, Luke watched Reggie slowly start to form a thought.

“Wait!” Reggie called out, eyes wide, causing Alex and Luke to raise their eyebrows at him. “If we’re dating now,” He motioned between the three of them. “I’d feel bad not telling Alex what monsters we are, it feels not truthful and makes me feel guilty.” Reggie ended, a slight pout upon his lips. 

“It’s up to you guys, I won’t pressure you tell me.” Alex promised, slowly reaching out for their hands. They intertwined their fingers with his eagerly. 

“I think Reg is right, I’d probably feel a little bad.” Luke nodded, eyeing the blonde.

“Then whenever you guys are ready. Though, Nick did mention that monster stuff that humans know isn’t completely accurate, so if you guys would like to, I’d love to learn the actual lore.” Alex smiled, squeezing their hands tightly. 

“The lore is honestly the best part about all of this.” Reggie laughed, his thumb running over the back of Alex’s hand. “I’ll start though! Drumroll?” He gave the blonde big puppy dog eyes, kissing his intertwined hand. Alex gave a dramatic sigh, dropping their hands and walking to the drum set and giving his new boyfriend the drumroll he asked for. Reggie waved him back after, hand ready for the grabbing, to which Luke couldn’t help to laugh at. 

“You’re so needy today.” Luke teased, to which he was quickly hushed, which he retaliated at by sticking his tongue out. 

“I’m a vampire!” Reggie gave a wide grin, making sure to show off his fangs to Alex. The blonde smiled slightly, turning his gaze to Luke.

“Do you want a drumroll too?” Alex teased.

“I’m good, I actually like to hold my boyfriend's hand.” Luke laughed loudly as Reggie blew him a raspberry with his free hand. “I’m a werewolf, if you couldn’t tell by the everything about me.” He joked lightly, attempting to make his point by nuzzling himself into Alex’s neck. 

“Well thank you guys for telling me.” Alex smiled, pulling them tightly into his chest. “Wow, so this is how Bella felt?” The joke received a wet willy and a light shoulder punch, to which he laughed. 

“Vampires don’t sparkle, thank you very much.” Reggie pouted. 

“Yeah, he might’ve been super upset about that portrayal when it happened.” Luke laughed. “Although, I will give it to them that they got one aspect of Vampires correct.” 

“What part?” Alex asked, leaning back against the couch. 

“The Cullen family. Those specific people, Edward and them, don’t actually exist, but the Cullens were one of the original vampire families. Although the bloodsucking is obviously still right, that's basically a last resort tactic.” The vampire explained with an eye roll. 

“You said ‘were’? What do you mean?” 

“Not sure, they just, poof,” Reggie did a ‘poof’ hand motion. “Gone. There’s a bunch of theories as to what happened, but that’s all they are. Theories.” He gave a shrug, cuddling into the hunters side. 

“What about werewolves? Old legend families there?” 

“Not...really?” Luke winced. “Werewolves like to keep their original families on the down-low. That’s actually why I don’t really have a pact.” 

“A pact?” Alex pulled Luke into his chest, rubbing his arm in a comforting way. 

“Just a different way to say our claimed family. Any werewolves, close friends, significant others or found turned’s can join a pact. The major rule is to not reveal any of the major family names to the public, and I kinda fucked that one up.” Luke replied sadly, feeling Reggie’s hand wrap around his comfortingly. 

“You didn’t mean to though, you were just swallowed by your anger.” Reggie cooed, attempting to make him feel a little better. 

“Regardless, I fucked up and faced the consequences.” Luke let out a sigh, closing his eyes and cuddling into Alex further. 

“You fucked around and found out.” Reggie offered quietly, pulling a slight snort from Luke. 

“I certainly did, yeah.” 

“Do vampires have pacts?” Alex attempted a change of subject, which Luke pretended to not notice. 

“Not really, but once a vampire is turned they’re connected to one of the original families and they’re inducted into the family, but that’s more so customary. We do have bonds though, which we can choose to form on our own. Like, I have a bond with you guys, and everyone else in the group.” Reggie smiled up at him, kissing both of his boyfriends on the cheek. 

“A bond?” 

“Yeah! It’s nothing to do on anybody else’s part, mostly just for the vampire. I basically just feel a physical connection to you, and can kinda sense when you guys are injured, dying, and occasionally it can be used for tracking but that takes energy so I usually avoid it.” Reggie hummed. “I can get rid of the bonds if I spend time focusing on it too, but bad things would happen if the bond was severed suddenly.” He gave a shiver. Luke joined in with his own shiver, cracking his eyes open to look up at Alex, who looked suddenly very anxious. 

“What bad things?” The hunter asked quietly. 

“It would cause a feral vampire.” Luke supplied. “Which only actually happens if the vampire wasn’t born as a vampire. Basically if someone they’re bonded to dies quickly or is gravely injured it’s a death sentence for the turned vampire. We're pretty sure it's because if you're born as one, you're body is built ready for the bonds, but not for a turned vampire.” He looked anywhere but Reggie, only supplying the next sentence because he knew where Reggie was going. “Reg came close to going feral about a year ago, when Jules’ mom died.” Luke swallowed thickly, wishing he couldn’t feel the sudden tension in the air. 

“Oh my fucking god.” Alex muttered. “That’s horrible, I’m so sorry I had you guys explain that.” 

“No, no. It’s ok.” Reggie looked up at Alex, his eyes watery. “You’d have to find out at some point, and you wanted to know about actual monsters. The healing process for it is a lot, I was essentially out of commission for a month after Rose died. It was really sad around here for a while, with Jules and me being a huge downer on everyone. Ray and Carlos tried to stay optimistic for everyone, but we were all hurting from it.” Reggie nodded. “But hey! Jules has been working on her necromancy, so she can talk to Rose whenever she needs to. It’s nice to know magic can help.” He smiled, pressing a gentle kiss to Alex’s jaw. 

“Well, I may not be the best hunter, but I can certainly try to protect you guys to the best of my abilities.” 

“Same could be said to you, softie.” Luke gently punched Alex’s shoulder, attempting to get rid of some tension in the room.

“Wow, we just got together and I’m already being bullied. Rude.” 

“Not as rude as the fact that neither of you are kissing me right now, actually, I think that’s the rudest thing.” Reggie piped up, laughing as his boyfriends attacked him with kisses, covering his face. He laughed, before him and Alex teamed up to do the same to Luke, and then Alex being on the receiving end. 

They continued to exchange small kisses, hugs, cuddles and conversation through the rest of the night before drifting off, the TV still on and being long forgotten. The last thing Luke remembered thinking that even if things weren’t the best in the past, and may not turn out how they would want them to in the future, he knew that no matter what, he could and would count on his friends to be there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading todays chapter, how do we feel about the boys finally getting together??? And their monster types are revealed!! Vampire Reggie and Werewolf Luke are my lifeblood at this point. 
> 
> Just a reminder that in a relationship, regardless on if its gay/straight/monogamous/polygamous/platonic/romantic/sexual whatever, communication is the more important part!! 
> 
> I can now be found at prettyghostboys on all social media! On tumblr I'm also accepting requests for prompts, I reblogged a bunch of prompt lists (Link here for a doc of them: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10YjQcyb6YZIj8GYgAng_9f0wQVttzK5aPxSngUvgSuI/edit?usp=sharing ) Shoot any requests you have for me to my tumblr!! Anyway, have a nice night you guys!!


	8. Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Communication is key, kids. Especially amongst significant others!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to learn the middle names I gave everyone!! I'm also very excited about getting last names for our boys, but for this fic Reggie will continue to be Reggie Davis and Alex will be Alex Mayweather. 
> 
> As a side note: I was kinda right about Alex having an M last name and 100% made Reggie's dad's name Peter. So close, yet so far away. Enjoy today's chapter though!!

“You know,” Reggie started, tossing something between his hands. “since Alex and me mentioned our middle names the other day, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard you or Julie..or anyone else mention theirs.” 

“Oh I guess we haven’t.” Julie hummed slightly, tapping the hard back of her book idly.    
“It is kinda funny that we all only knew yours, just to mess with you.” She laughed slightly, marking her page and setting the book on their coffee table. 

“Soooooo….” Reggie sang out, looking between everyone. “Care to share?” He smiled, wiggling his eyebrows at everyone. 

“Wish I hadn’t already told you, you guys kept calling me Romeo after I made that whole cute date for you guys.” Alex huffed quietly from where his head rested on Reggie’s lap, his feet resting in Luke’s. 

“Mad you’re a little helpless hopeless romantic, Romeo?” Luke teased flicking Alex’s leg lightly. 

“Mine’s Capri.” Flynn called from her place on the floor beside the piano bench. “Flynn Capri King. Just a letter short from spelling ‘fuck’ with my initials.” She sighed. “I think my parents are lame for not just going for it.” 

“Heloise.” Carrie said, draped across one of the arm chairs, her head tilted towards the ceiling. “It’s French, means famous fighter.” The corner of her lip quirked up as she spoke. “My mom picked it out.” 

“I don’t have a middle name.” Nick’s hand was held out, little chunks of lunch meat in his palm, allowing Snuggles and Noodles to eat them. “Just two last names.” 

“Oh yeah, what was it again, Daniel-Edwards?” Luke snickered. 

“Danforth-Evans, but hey at least your joke was close, right?” Nick laughed back, watching the snakes nuzzle into his now empty hand. 

“Mine’s just Gray, simple and easy. Picked it out myself.” Luke blew off Nick’s comment, instead smirking and shrugging, trying to make himself look cool. Reggie laughs, reaching to grab the boys hand. 

“Damn, maybe I should change mine, then maybe y’all would leave me alone. What about you Julie?” He asked, toying with the rings on Luke’s fingers. 

“I honestly thought you’d know by now, knowing how much you hang around my father and snoop through my stuff.” She hummed, looking at her nails, but her words pointed to Reggie and Luke. 

“I don’t talk about you that much with your dad, mostly just stellar food recipes that are allergy friendly to everyone here.” Reggie smiled as he brought Luke’s hand to his mouth, giving it a small kiss before he went back to playing with his rings. His eyes weren’t on her, but he could feel her eyes roll across the room. 

“Juliette Emily Molina.” She hummed, her fingers hovering over the piano keys. “Mom wanted my name to be beautiful, so she spelled out something precious, JEM.” She smiled, pressing a couple keys gently. “At least that’s what dad says, but I don’t know.” 

Reggie, not intending to be rude, had stopped paying attention after Julie said her middle name, instead zeroing in on how slack Luke’s body went. 

“Hey, you okay?” Reggie squeezed his hand slightly, bringing Luke’s attention to him. Luke gave him a slight shake of his head. The best course of action he could think of was getting him away from the others, as he looked very out of place. Reggie nudged Alex slightly, attempting to convey his thoughts to him without causing anyone to ask about things. 

Alex sat up quickly, and Reggie knew he opened his mouth and began talking, but he blocked all of that out right now, everything except Luke. While Alex distracted the others, thank god, Reggie pulled Luke behind him and B-lined for as far as he could get away from the garage but still on the property. 

“Sorry to tug you out of there but you didn’t look so good.” Reggie turned to face Luke, who quickly clung to him, shoving his face into the crook of Reggie’s neck. Reggie held him, gently rubbing his back. 

They stood there, embracing each other for a few minutes, not saying a thing. Just enjoying the other's presence. It was a few more minutes before they heard slight footsteps coming towards them. 

“So, I may have started a friendly argument between everyone on their favorite Big Time Rush member, but I wanted to come check on what happened back there?” Alex spoke up behind them, Reggie gently spinning them so they could both look at the blonde. 

“Well…” Reggie hummed, looking down at Luke quizzically. The smaller boy gave a slight nod, telling him to continue. “Luke’s mom’s name is Emily.” Reggie finished with a small voice, his eyes slightly becoming glossy, looking up at Alex. 

“Oh, shit.” Alex winced slightly, brushing his hand through his hair, before quickly striding to the others, pulling both of them into his arms. Reggie could feel his shirt slowly getting wet where Luke’s face was, and that’s the only thing that he needed to begin crying himself. 

“Oh yeah, but I’m the emotional one.” Alex murmured, sniffling a bit after catching Reggie’s watery puppy dog eyes. 

“You’ve cried about the last like, twenty five movies we’ve watched.” Luke murmured, giving a raspy chuckle. 

“They were good!” Alex squawked. 

“Yeah, but not  _ that  _ good!” Luke replied, pulling away from Reggie slightly to continue laughing. 

“Whatever.” Alex rolled his eyes, a smile on his face. “I’m glad you’re feeling a little better now.” 

“Not too much better, but I do want to hear who they all think the best member of Big Time Rush is.” Luke reached up and gave both boys a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, both of you.” 

“No problem, man.” Alex smirked, shoving his hands into his jean pockets, and quickly diverting his gaze as his face began to turn pink. 

“Who do you guys think the best boy is?” Reggie grabbed each of the other’s hands and intertwined their fingers. 

“Clearly gonna have to go for Logan, he’s the one with the brain cells and only one with a stable career choice before the band.” Alex shrugged. 

“What? No way! Kendall is the best! He didn’t even want to join the band, he only did it because it was one of his best friends’ dreams, and he wasn’t afraid to stand up for himself and his friends.” Luke objected, pulling the others back towards the garage. 

“I don’t know, I think they’re all like, equal? They’re a group, a buy one get three free deal.” Reggie laughed, following behind his boyfriend, squeezing both Luke and Alex’s hands gently. 

“That is true, I’ll give you that point Reg. Best song?” Alex squeezed his hand back, Luke not too far behind. 

“Gotta go with their most well known here. Big Time Rush, duh.” Luke called. 

“What! Halfway There was so good though!” 

“Reggie, no. Count On You was the best!” Alex sighed loudly, and the other boys could feel the eyeroll that followed without even seeing him. 

“You’re both insane.” Luke really couldn’t believe them, but he couldn’t help the smile on his face either. Even if the two boys were completely out of their minds, they were both there for him, and he couldn’t be happier. 

“Ok, best side character?” The blonde prompted, looking between the other two boys.

“Kelly, no doubt.” Luke rolled his eyes, accompanied with a scoff. 

“Seconded.” Reggie laughed, pulling both boys in closer to him. 

“Good to know you both have  _ some  _ sense at least.” Alex grinned, wrapping his arm around Reggie’s shoulder, watching as Luke’s went around the middle boy’s waist. They walked back into the garage the same way with audible laughs and silent whispers. By the time they looked up, it was just Julie left in the garage. 

“Hey, Luke, could I talk to you?” She asked, fidgeting with the multitudes of bracelets upon her wrists. 

“Yeah, of course.” He nodded, pulling away from the other boys gently and stepping back out with Julie in tow. 

“I’m not sure what I said to upset you, but I wanted to apologize and make sure you’re alright?” She bit her lip anxiously, looking up at him. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, the boys helped. I just…” He ran his hands through his hair awkwardly. “I told you about what happened with my mom right?” He watched her nod in return. “Well, my moms name is Emily, and I guess hearing it so suddenly was just a shock.” 

“Awe, Luke.” She quickly wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry.” 

“Not your fault, you didn’t know. Reg was the only one who knew, but he’s the only one who’s met her too, so.” Luke shrugged, kissing her forehead gently. 

“We’re lucky to have them aren’t we?” He looks down to see Julie looking into the garage where Alex and Reggie were sitting on the couch, pressed against each others sides and whispering to each other. 

“Yeah, I think we are.” Luke smiled down at her. “But I’m personally lucky to have three wonderful partners.” 

“Damn right we’re wonderful, we put up with you!” Julie leaned up, pressing a kiss to his nose before taking off towards the other two boys, joining them on the couch. Luke let out a laugh, following behind her and draping himself across his three partners, knowing that he at least did something right. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr and twitter @ prettyghostboys! I'm open to fic requests and prompts, I've been on a huge writing kick these past couple of days and may be posting an Alex/Reggie fic here soon, but who's to say! ;3
> 
> P.S. Yes, Luke is trans and Reggie's joke about changing his name was partially nodding towards that I love the non-binary Reggie idea. 
> 
> Fun fact: I'm non-binary and have additionally started going by Reggie because of this show! and Gray is actually the middle name I picked for myself, the more you know.


	9. Consternation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie raises an alarm, and all come running, except...someone's missing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays! I've been in a huge writing mood lately and I have a couple more JaTP works I may post in the next couple days, so Chapter 10 may take a week or so, I've been trying to get that one just right since it'll hopefully be a very plot heavy chapter. More info about my other works will be down below, but for now, enjoy!! Sorry this chapter is so short!

Julie was used to feeling the sharp tug in her chest, the sign that someone was entering or exiting the ward. Which isn’t normally a problem, but seeing how it was nearing midnight and she didn’t have any texts on her phone from any of her friends or family, sirens were blaring in her head. 

Quickly, Julie took off to check the rooms in the house first. Carlos was sleeping sound in his bed, her dad working away in his office, but when he saw her peeling around the corner, he was quick to stop her. 

“What’s up, mija?” He looked at her, voice gentle and eyes questioning. 

“Someone came in or left, Papi. I don’t have any texts.” Julie looked at him frantically, he only gave her a sharp nod before allowing her to run out to the garage, him taking off towards the phone. 

As she threw open the garage doors, she snapped her fingers to turn the lights on, her magic flaring out around her in her panic. The bang scared the boys residing in the garage awake, with Alex falling onto the floor, staring up at Julie, now completely alert. 

“Jeez, I think you broke Alex.” Reggie sat up, sleepily rubbing his eyes. 

“Alex, Reggie,” Julie could feel her heartbeat increase, her magic flickering dangerously around her. “Where’s Luke?” 

“Luke’s right- '' Reggie turned to point behind him, seeing the place their boyfriend previously resided empty and cold. Julie watches the boys face fall, turning back to her. Their eyes meet before they both rush to pick Alex up. “Let me just...check.” The vampire gave a deep breath, allowing his eyes to close and attempted to relax his body. 

“What’s he doing? What’s going on?” The tall blonde whispered to Julie, both eyes focused on Reggie. 

“Focusing on their bond. I’m not totally sure how it works, there’s not much logged about vampire bonds but best guess, he’s just checking to make sure Luke’s ok.” Julie tugged Alex towards the closet. “My current assumption is that he is not, Luke never leaves here without telling at least me or dad, so we have to be ready to go look for him.” She waved her hand, pushing forward and watching as the glowing purple waves of her magic began to pack supplies into the bags she’d left in the closet. 

“I’ll call Carrie, she’ll get the others.” Alex nodded, taking off to his phone. 

Within the next few minutes, Carrie, Nick and Flynn had joined them in the garage, all in various states of dress. Carrie and Flynn both being completely dressed and ready to go, Nick still yawning and in his pajamas. Julie and Alex attempted to explain the situation to them, both anxiously looking to Reggie, waiting for him to respond. 

“Can I stay here and be the like...geek computer hacker person for this rescue mission? Not wanting to use my powers and not being very helpful in any other way, doesn’t seem like a great pull for me to join.” Nick mumbled, walking over to the bookshelves and pulling one off at random. He lazily flipped through it while the girls all rolled their eyes at him.

“You guys aren’t gonna like this.” Reggie piped up weakly from his place on the couch. Everyone’s eyes drifted to his as they cracked open, Alex quickly rushing to his side to grab his hand. The room seemed to still, silence enveloping as Reggie clutched to Alex like a lifeline. “He’s not too far from the ward I don’t think, I can just barely feel your magic lingering around him. I think...I think someone is trying to lure us out.” 

“Then they better be fucking ready for a fight.” Everyone’s eyes shot to Julie, her eyes glowing brightly, her hair lifting slightly. “The Molina reputation may not be completely accurate to what it used to be, but they’ll see what happens when they touch my family.”

Everyone nodded, fierce determination filling the room. Everyone grabbed one of the bags Julie had prepared, heading out of the garage. Nick ran into the main building to alert Ray and Carlos, the rest readying themselves for whatever was to come next. Julie felt a hand on her arm pull her back, the rest of their group continuing. She finds herself looking up into Alex’s eyes, the normal blue of his eyes altered by her purple magic that swirled haphazardly around them. 

“No matter what happens out there, trust me, okay? I have a gut feeling about something, but I don’t wanna say too much yet.” He gave her a small smile, hand squeezing her arm gently. She reaches out, squeezing his arm back. “No one fucks with our family.”

“I trust you, Alex. Let’s go get our boy.” She smiled back at him, they quickly caught up with the rest of their friends, stopped along the edge of the Molina’s ward. They all share a look, nodding to each other before they step through, the sharp tug in her chest grounding her once more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the works I have a fake dating au (unnamed right now), of which I currently have 6 chapters typed up, along with a 5 part Reggie/Alex fic that I've been debating on whether or not I should post it, and then a couple other half formed fic ideas. I may start typing out the ideas I have for a season 2 as well, to tide myself over until we get a season 2 announcement. 
> 
> Have a nice night/day <3 thank you guys for giving this a read. If I don't reply to your comments, know that I absolutely love them all and am too busy crying in happiness to reply! 
> 
> As always, you can find me on tumblr and twitter @ prettyghostboys!! Prompt requests are still open as well!! (Shoot me an ask on tumblr!)


	10. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh! There's Luke...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter took me a while to get it to a place that I felt comfortable enough to post, so here is chapter 10!! I hope you guys enjoy, now let's all find out where our dear boy Luke went off too....
> 
> I'd also like to warn there is some violence mentioned in the chapter, but it's nothing gory and no blood is mentioned, but regardless skip to the end note for a TLDR if you're uncomfortable with violence in any capacity.

Alex felt his breath stutter out, a knot forming in his throat as they walked out to the scene before them. 

Luke was struggling, held in a chokehold by a tall man, in a dark suit, cape and top hat. He could just barely make out an outline of a mostly transparent figure tucked behind the man. Further behind them, encased in the shadows of the tree line, Alex could barely make out three more figures, but unable to discern much about them. Luke kicked wildly, clawing at the arm that was wrapped around his throat and Alex could feel his heart squeeze. 

“Well, well. Little Alexander, you are here after all.” The man in the top hat laughed loudly, eyes filled with malice. “With these  _ creatures  _ no less, full of surprises, aren’t you?” Alex’s tongue felt heavy in his mouth, dread pooling in his stomach, yet he managed to find his voice. 

“Put him down.” His voice came out quiet, but he pushed as much bitterness into it as he could. “Put him down right now, if you’re here to take me, then take me, do not dare to drag him into this.” He pushed down his anxiety with all he had in him, the last thing he needed right now was a panic attack. 

“Hmm, interesting proposition, but I don’t think I will.” He gave them a too-large grin, pulling his arm tighter and the group watched as Luke fell unconscious in his arms. “Oops!” He laughed, and Alex felt sick, Reggie’s sharp intake of breath only making him feel worse. 

“You’re making a dangerous mistake, everyone who lives in this residence is under the protection of the Molina witches, so you will return him to us, or you will face the consequences.” Julie’s strong voice carried, Alex swears it’s louder than he’s ever heard it. Her magic swirling wildly around them, like a small tornado where Julie was the eye. 

“Cute parlor trick, sweetie, but that means nothing to me. I’m just here to torment you all and steal the little hunter back.” The man cackled, throwing Luke’s body down as if it were just a sack of flour. Alex saw Julie grab Reggie’s arm tightly as he tried to step up, a snarl peeling from his mouth. 

“Then take me, there’s no use wasting any energy on them.” Alex tried to keep his voice as level as he could, walking towards the man. “They’re worthless anyway right?” He attempted to not flinch at his own words, and he hoped with everything he had that none of his friends believed the words he was saying. 

“Hmmm, if they’re so worthless, kill one.” He kicked at Luke’s body, and Alex restrained himself from attacking this man right in this moment, especially hearing the hiss Reggie let out. “Make a lovely little show for your family.” The man motioned towards the tree line, a ball of light floating out from his open palm, fluttering over to illuminate the faces of his family. 

Alex studied their faces, his father’s stoic look, the one he always gave Alex to show he was expecting something out of him. His sister’s face was warped in fear, but of what he wasn’t sure. His mother’s face was just pure pity and expectations. He wanted none of this, he wanted them all gone, so he looked away from them, back to the man. 

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” Alex snarled, his hands tugging at the fanny pack he had strapped to his chest. He could almost feel how badly his father wanted to yell at him, the waves of anger and disappointment radiating off of him. 

“A conductor of sorts.” He smirked back. “You may call me Covington, I orchestrate the slayer hit tasks.” Alex felt sick once again and fought away the urge to vomit. After whatever happens tonight, he thinks he’ll have faced enough fear and anxiety for his lifetime. 

“You’re a demon, aren’t you?” Alex hears Flynn’s voice from behind him, he resists the urge to turn around, to take comfort in the arms of his friends. 

“How could you tell?” The man laughed, twirling around and letting his cape fly out around him. “I think demon is a little heavy handed, don’t you think? Offensive, if you will.” 

“I won’t.” Flynn stated bluntly. The grin on Covington’s face fell, replaced by a look that chilled Alex’s blood, but he set it aside for a moment to feel a bit hopeful from Flynn’s snark. 

“Foolish little girl.” He hissed out, eyes glowing a sinister purple color, much darker than Julie’s own purple. “What do you children even think you can do to stand against me?” 

“Whatever it takes, you aren’t taking our family away from us.” Carrie replied, voice quiet but steady. Alex felt uplifted by the hope his friends held in their small, awkward family. For the life of his friends, he tried to piece together any knowledge he had on demons, coming up empty. Of course, a  _ demon  _ running the slayer hit boards would make sure the slayers couldn’t take him down. He hoped that his friends knew something he didn’t, but for now, his best bet was to stall. 

“Who’s your little shadow?” Alex’s eyes flickered to the figure behind Covington, noting how the man was mindlessly shielding them with every movement. 

“Ah yes, young William.” Covington hummed, taking Alex’s distraction bait, or so he hoped. “Little Willie here is how I managed to get through this tricky little ward of yours, he’s been...tracking you, for lack of a better sounding term.” The demon hesitantly reached behind him, pressing a hand to the figure’s back and just by his touch they watched as a boy materialized right in front of them. 

Alex studied the boy, his face and eyes both downcast, and Alex could feel the guilt eating at him. Something about him felt familiar, but he chose to not focus on that, it didn’t matter right now. 

“So he’s a lackey.” Alex stated bluntly, falling into a reliable asshole role, pushing his emotions as far down inside himself as he could. “Doesn’t seem particularly helpful, if you’re as strong as you say you are, I wouldn’t think you’d need a little minion.” Willie flinched at his words, and Alex made a note to apologize later if the ghost actually felt as guilty as he looked. 

“On the contrary! Very helpful.” Covington lived up to every villain archetype Alex had heard of, and he really wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or disappointed. The blonde watched as Covington nudged the boy forward, stumbling slightly in surprise before he turned back to the demon. 

He watched the quick and silent conversation the two hand before Covington pressed something small into Willie’s hand. He watched as Willie looked up to the man before turning to look at Alex, an emotion he couldn’t quite place in his eyes before he vanished. Alex steeled himself, looking up, several feet away, into Covington’s dark eyes. 

“I’m assuming you sent your minion out on a little task?” He managed to push out, unable to place the emotions in his own voice. 

“Indeed, but he shouldn’t be long, I gave him a simple enough task. Now, Alexander, do recall what I asked of you.” The demon toed at Luke’s body, still residing on the ground. Alex took slight comfort at the fact that he could still see Luke’s chest rising and falling. “If you want to prove yourself to your dear, loving family, you’ll kill one of these horrible creatures.” Covington sneered toward Alex’s friends. 

His eyes drifted back to the tree line where his family was. His father’s vice-like grip on his mother’s shoulder, the pleading look in her eyes while his father just looked on with expectation. His sister’s face is what really sealed the deal, her tight smile and understanding eyes. He found himself looking back at his friends. Carrie’s sunglasses reflecting the purple magic that hung heavily in the air, her snakes betraying her clenched jaw as they wriggled anxiously, Flynn defiant and strong looking as ever. Reggie’s tense shoulders and heavy breathing, Alex wanted nothing more than to run into his arms. Finally, his eyes found Julie and he knew immediately what he had to do, so he nodded to her. She nodded back, and he turned back to Covington, feeling the anxiety leave his body as he grinned up at the overly dressed man. 

“I have nothing to prove to anyone, and those ‘horrible creatures’ are more of a family than my parents ever were. None of them are dying today, not on my watch.” Alex felt a renewed burst of confidence, smirking over towards the tree line. The burst of energy inside him was quickly over, as he was hit with another more shocking burst. 

A flash of pain in his chest made him wince, looking down at the tip of a small blade just barely coming out of him. He let out a strangled noise of confusion, sounds around him exploding, but not being able to focus on any of them. 

He looked up from his place on the ground, many thoughts floating through his head. Mostly, Alex was confused when he got to the ground, but then he registered that his hand had found Luke’s and that Covington was standing over him. 

“Then it shall not happen on your watch, seeing as your time is up, Alexander. Perhaps you should’ve taken my _very_ kind offer.” Covington cackled, the evil grin on his face being the last thing Alex sees before darkness overtakes his vision and he’s welcomed into a dark silence. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another cliffhanger....oops! 
> 
> Mostly oops anyway, this is my attempt at an 'action' chapter, I'm not good at fighting scenes so I had it be a confrontation more than an actual fight. 
> 
> TLDR; The group (consisting of Alex, Julie, Reggie, Flynn and Carrie) go outside of the Molina's ward to find Luke being held by a strange man in a suit and top hat, who introduces himself as Covington. Covington surprises Alex with his family, attempting to persuade him to come back to his family and kill one of his new friends. Alex puts up an asshole-ish front, and attempts to stall. Flynn realizes Covington is a demon, announces this to everyone, and doesn't back down at his words. Luke is unconscious for like 90% of this chapter. Willie is officially introduced to the gang and disappears. Alex ends up getting stabbed through the back when he defies Covington's order to kill a friend and passes out. 
> 
> Anyway! Happy holidays! I'll try working on the next chapter over the next few days, but with Christmas coming up it's been a hectic time, so it may be about another week before I manage to update again. Stay safe everyone, stay warm and have a great week! If you guys wanna chat feel free to reach me on tumblr/twitter at prettyghostboys!
> 
> (P.S. I have another new AU in the works, a tattoo shop/flower shop/cafe AU because I will cover the cliche trope bases in my JaTP writing)


	11. Recollection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex doesn't die and Willie is a hero (in more ways than one.)
> 
> Slight warning for this chapter: There is a fight, although it doesn't get graphic because I'm not comfortable with super explicit gore-type stuff, along with a look into how Willie died, which is described kinda vaguely but not too vague to where how he died isn't obvious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh, I'm sorry this took so long, I kept editing it and editing it and only became comfortable enough after today to post it, although I think this story may be coming to a close here soon!! Not too sure how many more chapters left exactly, but I should have that figured out by the time the next chapter comes out, but it could be at least 2 more chapters, at most maybe 5 more. 
> 
> Anyway!! Enjoy the chapter today <3

Alex felt himself blink awake, blearily looking at his surroundings. His brain took a moment to realize he wasn’t in front of the Molina’s ward, nor was he in Julie’s garage. It took him a moment longer to realize that he wasn’t alone. There were people surrounding him, strange faces in this strange location he found himself in. Everything still, frozen in time.

“You’re safe, you know.” Alex spun around quickly, his arms in front of himself defensively. “I won’t hurt you...or not anymore than I already kinda have.” It was the ghost boy that was with Covington, and Alex struggled to recall his name, but his temples began to throb. 

“Where am I?” Alex mumbled, glancing around at the people surrounding them. None of them were moving, all frozen in a moment. Lost in time. 

“Not quite a where, not quite anything.” The boy looked over at him. “Covington...he asked me to kill you if you didn’t want to kill one of them. He wasn’t lying when he said I was tasked with watching over you guys, I have been following you.” 

“You’re going to have to explain a lot more if you want me to trust you.” Alex distanced himself, as the boy tried to come closer. “I’ll also need your name, I can’t seem to recall it.” He crossed his arms tightly around him, the empty weight of Luke’s hand in his a fading memory. 

“Willie,” He nodded slightly, his hands out in front of him in an open gesture. “I don’t have many abilities as a ghost, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that Covington doesn’t know about.” He offered a smirk, arms spreading out to gesture around them. “That’s what this is, one of my tricks. I can teleport between places, that’s not anything new to him, but I can also teleport into my memories. That’s where I’ve brought you, we’ll be safe here. Coming to the memory will give you time to heal.” 

Alex looked down to his chest, where Willie had motioned. A memory slams into Alex’s brain of looking down at the tip of a blade, and he felt his body jolt. There was a hole in his shirt, a blood stain down his front, but the skin beneath the hole was fresh and pink, like it was already healing over. 

“It’ll need to be looked at with better magic, your witch friend should be able to help, but this is the most I can do. I don’t agree with what he’s doing.” Willie walked over to a bus bench near them, weaving expertly through the frozen people on the street. Alex hesitantly followed, sitting beside him. “I’d also suggest avoiding thinking too hard on memories, it’ll hurt you here, since we’re in my memories.” Alex nodded slightly, making sure to take note. 

“If you don’t agree with what he does, why stay with him?” Alex found himself asking, fully interested now. 

“I don’t really have a choice, he’s in control of me.” Willie winced, idly braiding a strand of his hair. “I have nowhere else to go, he’s a demon, his power is immeasurable, mostly.”

“Mostly?” 

“Yeah, being a demon underling you pick up some stuff about demons. They don’t like their weaknesses getting out, it’s not really a secret that angels' magic tends to trump theirs.” Willie gave him a sour laugh, letting go of the small braid and watching it unravel itself slowly. 

“Why not tell me some, that could potentially help.” 

“Cause he’d know, and he’d kill me all over again, and I...I can’t go through that again.” 

They sat in silence for a few moments, Willie tugging at the bracelets on his wrist and Alex spinning the rings on his hands. 

“I’m sorry...about your boyfriend, Luke?” Willie looked up to him, and he gave a slight nod. “I hadn’t wanted to do anything, but Covington was getting impatient, I had assumed he was the one that would get notice quicker, if I took him.” 

“You guessed right, which I suppose I have to thank you for that.” Alex offered him a small smile. “Whenever we get outta here, I can see if we can offer you any protection, cause it doesn’t seem like Covington can come through the ward.” Willie’s eyebrows raised slightly and he hummed, growing silent for a few moments. 

“That...that may work. I don’t know much about ward magic, but they certainly looked like they’d hurt him, and he waited till I had pulled Luke a few feet from it before he even bothered coming close to us.” Alex could only nod, anxiously studying the environment around them. The smiling faces of groups of teens gathered together, stern faces of businessmen walking down the street, little kids with their hands laced through the fingers of their parents. 

“This doesn’t look like Los Angelos.” Alex hummed, gaze shifting to the tall building surrounding them, the cars and buses filling the streets. 

“It’s not.” Willie smiled, standing up and dusting off his shorts before offering a hand to Alex. “Come on, I’ll show you around Chicago and we can chat some more.” Alex studied his face for a moment before he took Willie’s hand and let the boy pull him through the city. 

Alex wasn’t sure how long they wandered, or if time was even moving in the real world, Willie giving him small bits of information about Covington every so often, but none of it seemed like it could be anything too harmful to the demon, regardless he mentally catalogued the information just in case. Willie asked about Alex’s friends, letting him excitedly tell him about all of them, soon revealing he’d seen Alex’s dance video he’d texted to Carrie. 

“Dude, that was you that watched it? I was so mad at Carrie, I thought she was ignoring me.” Alex laughed, jokingly shoving him. Willie laughed, nudging him back and offering a small apology, that Alex promptly waved off. They walked for a little while longer before Alex noticed Willie’s demeanor shift, retreating in on himself and going silent. The blonde stopped him in front of a small corner store. 

“Hey, what’s up? You’re acting a little off.” Alex nudged him, watching Willie’s eyes flicker across the street before training them onto Alex’s face. 

“It’s...you know how I mentioned this is a memory, right?” Alex nodded. “Well, part of the reason I know Covington won’t bother me here is because this is when and where I died...which I’ve never really told him. He never even asked.” Willie shrugged lightly, eyes focusing back across the street. “Maybe this is a sign we should head back. We can finish the memory and leave.” Willie nodded, swallowing thickly. 

Alex found himself offering Willie a hand, which he quickly took and laced their fingers together. The memory resumed and the city began to shift and move around them. 

Birds continued flying, noises hitting Alex’s ears quickly. People conversing and laughing, Cars honking, with faint music coming from inside the corner store. Alex followed where Willie’s eyes were focused, to two teenagers walking closely together, grins on their face. It took him a moment to recognize Willie, seeing as in his memory he was wearing a chunky helmet and held a skateboard tight to his chest. The person beside him, Alex could only guess was his twin. They looked a lot like Willie did, except their hair was done up and seemed to be less uncomfortable. 

“This...isn’t pretty, you don’t have to watch.” Willie’s soft voice reached his ears, squeezing his hand tightly. 

“If you’re gonna watch, then so am I. A real friend wouldn’t have to go through this alone, not again.” Alex squeezed back, earning a small smile. 

It happened quickly, which Alex found himself thankful for. Willie and his twin came up to the crosswalk, waiting for it to allow them to cross. A little girl from the other side, her mom not paying much attention to her, began to cross, with Willie and his twin shouting at her to turn around quickly, being the only two seeing the car approach. Alex watched Willie, the one in the memory, quickly pushed his twin back, taking off across the street, tossing his skateboard under his feet, using his speed to shove the girl back away from the car, but his momentum flinging him backwards, right back in the way of the car. Several screams pierced the air and finally Alex tore his eyes away, turning to the boy beside him. 

The ghost Willie, the one he’s known, had tears streaming down his face. Alex gently pulls him into a hug, awkwardly patting his back. 

“I wish I could offer more consolation, this is more Reggie’s department than mine.” He muttered, drawing a laugh from the other. 

“It’s alright, you’re trying. You’ve already done a lot more than anyone else I know.” Willie nodded and they watched as the memory slowed around them. “We should get back, let’s go help your friends.” 

“Well, try to at least.” Alex laughed, pulling out of the hug. 

“And Alex?” Willie glanced at him as the memory around them started to fade, Alex raising an eyebrow in response. “His real name is Caleb.” 

Alex only felt his confusion increase as the world around him grew black and he was swallowed into nothingness once again. 

* * *

Coming back to consciousness, he quickly made note that his wound was indeed still closed and that Luke was no longer by his side. He wasn’t sure if his body was actually here while he was in Willie’s memory or not, he figured he wouldn’t question it right now. Although, he would question how much time had passed, seeing as there was now a magic bubble -- a force field?-- around him and his friends. He looked up to see Julie and Flynn with their arms outstretched, magic flowing from them, purple and gold intertwining. 

“Hey Flynn?” He croaked out, his throat dry. He coughed lightly as he struggled to his feet, over to the angel. 

“What’s up, Romeo?” She laughed, although he could hear the strain in his voice. 

“Do you know much about demons? How can we defeat him?” He pressed his hand to her shoulder, squeezing gently. 

“Demons…” He watched as she struggled to keep her magic up as she sorted through her memory. He took his chance to look over to the others. Luke was conscious, and looked extremely upset, although there wasn’t much he could do with a now unconscious Reggie in his lap. Carrie pressed close with her hands idly playing with the vampire's hair. Reggie looked peaceful except for the slight worried expression that came through. “My magic is strong against him.” Flynn got out, and Alex focused back on her. “That’s why I’m helping Jules. Besides that...we’d have to figure out where he gets his power, the opposite of his power could help weaken him.” 

Alex racked his brain, going through his brain of everything he and Willie discussed, hoping that the ghost boy was safe while he tried to save his friends. They had discussed the demon as a distant subject, only offhandedly as a second thought to their other discussions. Everything about the guy screamed control, order and hatred. 

“I think I have an idea of where he gets his power, do you guys trust me?” Alex faced towards where Covington was, his magic focused in a stream at the bubble around them. 

“Of course we trust you.” Julie muttered weakly. “If we didn’t trust you, your ass wouldn’t be in this bubble after that asshole act you tried to pull.” He offered her a small apologetic smile, and Alex supposed that answered his earlier thought on where his body physically was.

“You’ll have to drop the bubble, but Flynn, focus your magic on him, think about how much you love us and how chaotic we can all be. Julie, I’ll need you to run to get Carlos, we’ll need his magic too, as chaotic as it is it’ll help. Carrie, get Reggie back in the ward, then if you want to come back, you can. Luke, you’re the most impulsive person I know, go hog wild, babe.” 

They all studied him for a moment, before following what he said. The bubble dropped around them, Flynn’s magic clashing brightly against Covington’s, her gold a stark contrast to his dark, dramatic purple. Julie was off, helping Carrie pull Reggie’s body through the ward. Luke took off, Alex didn’t focus too much on him, knowing his anxiety would get the better of him. 

“Well, little Alexander, you’re tougher to kill than I expected.” Covington tried to laugh, a facade of ease. Alex could see right through, could see the cracks in his mask, at the anxiety that was beginning to develop. 

“There’s a lot about me that you guys don’t know.” Alex shouted, hiding behind Flynn as he dug into his fanny pack. He pulled out a bag of marbles, chucking one at the demon. He watched as he flinched slightly as the ball hit him, anger apparent on his face. For just a moment he was thankful for Carlos’ pranks teaching him to carry random junk on him, more than he already did.

“Throwing things? Isn’t that a bit childish?” Annoyance dripped from Covington. 

“Most definitely!” He exclaimed, using his best impression of the demon, watching as Luke ran behind him, arm’s extended out to his side, an awkward attempt to clothesline Covington’s side. 

“It’s quite adorable you think you children can defeat me, but despite your best efforts, you will not.” The demon huffed, agitation rising in his eyes as he continued to be pelted by marbles and random attacks from Luke. 

“I think it’s even funnier that you don’t think we’re smart enough to defeat you.” Alex laughed, anxiety gone from his heart, replaced by love and hope for his new family. “Hey Flynn, any other demon facts you have?” 

“Umm.” The angel struggled, stumbling back into Alex slightly. Alex held her up, watching her gold magic glow brighter. He felt another body press into his and he saw Carrie, her hand reaching up to squeeze Flynn’s arm. The gold grew even brighter, pressing more against Caleb’s magic. “True names!” Flynn shouted, a large grin on her face, and Alex threw his head back and laughed, remembering Willie’s parting knowledge. 

“True names.” The demon scoffed, his voice weak as his magic pushed him back. “Please, that’s just some angel myth.” 

“Oh, is it?” Alex called. “It would be a shame if I knew your name, wouldn’t it?” 

Alex watched with pure delight as the demon’s face fell for a moment, a reflection of the anxiety he had felt earlier that night. That told him all he needed to know as he stepped away from Flynn, Carrie holding the other girl up. Julie and Carlos came running out then, beginning to fire random blasts of magic at the demon, Julie aiming to hurt, Carlos....just aiming, or at least Alex assumed he was aiming. Small plants erupted from one of Carlos’ bright blue shots, wrapping tightly around the demons feet. He tripped backwards, before quickly catching himself, much to the boys’ disappointment. Alex watched as Luke ran by, giving the taller man a firm smack against the back of his head, the werewolf quickly running off with a loud cackle. 

He glanced around, seeing that his family was gone, or at least hiding, but could just see the faint outline of Willie, lingering near the ward, but far enough away to not be included in the strange battle they had going on. Alex caught his lingering gaze and gave him a small smile, a promise of hope.

Alex waited for a moment, watching the chaotic attacks his friends were waging against the demon, before striding up to him with a large, confident smile on his face.

“How do true names work?” Alex called back to Flynn, lingering in the demon’s peripheral, watching as the man strained to push back against the girl's wild gold, the vein in his neck attempting to make itself known. 

“Give an order then the name!” She shouted back, shooting him a small wink before pushing further. 

“Wow, that could go so many ways! It’s almost like you don’t have any control here.” Alex watched Luke run by once more, jabbing his hand into the demon’s lung, causing the taller man to let out a sharp, surprised gasp. Alex took a couple more marbles throwing them directly at his face. “In terms of ordering you...I want you to relinquish all hold you have over all of your underlings and anything else under your control, you’re powerless, Caleb.” 

The demon dropped immediately, his power waning. Flynn cut her magic off, tiredly falling into Carrie’s waiting arms. Luke prowled around them, protectively, his gaze switching between Alex and Julie. The witch was quick to gather her brother into her arms, herding him back toward the ward, Carrie meeting up with her, dragging Flynn with her. Alex walked over, giving a swift kick into the demon’s side. 

“That’s for my boyfriends, you jackass.” Alex snarled. “Never underestimate me again, I’m so much stronger than you’ll ever know. Now, get out of my sight, Caleb.” The demon rolled over and onto his knees, pushing himself weakly. 

“That won’t be needed, I think I can handle this.” A weak voice called from the ward, and Luke and Alex turned and saw Reggie struggling towards them, one of his arms wrapped tightly around his chest. Alex stood, stuck in place, watching as Luke rushed over, helping Reggie towards them. Caleb had crawled a bit away from them, but Reggie and Luke quickly blocked them in. 

“I have the high ground now, shitbag.” Reggie waved his free hand in front of him, directed at Caleb. Alex watched as Reggie’s eyes turned completely black for a moment, dark red magic encircling Caleb as the man poofed away, with Reggie sagging into Luke. 

“Nice  _ Star Wars  _ reference.” Luke teased, pressing a gentle kiss into Reggie’s hair. 

“Thanks, that was for me.” Reggie laughed lightly, wrapping his arms around Luke, his eyes fading back to normal. 

“What...what did you do to him?” Alex stared at the spot where Caleb previously was. 

“Banished him.” Reggie shrugged, Luke shifting around to lift Reggie up bridal style. 

“I will let this go for now, but you’re totally gonna have to explain this later, what the fuck?” Alex laughed, stepping over to wrap his boyfriends into his arms. 

“Well why you let that go for now, I will ask how you managed to figure out his true name, what the fuck?” Luke parroted him, leaning into the blonde. 

“Well, I can’t actually take credit for that.” Alex turned to where he last saw Willie, motioning for the boy to come forward. Willie poofed over to them, willing himself corporeal. 

“Caleb’s lackey! No way!” Luke flinched, eyeing the ghost cautiously.

“No, he’s good, trust me.” Alex smiled at Willie. “He may have stabbed me, but he’s also the reason I’m not dead right now.” 

“I can for one be grateful for that.” Reggie hummed. “If you’d have died, I also would’ve. Luckily I just passed out for a little while, with maybe a little lingering pain.”

“I suppose I’ll give him two brownie points, for not killing my boyfriends.” Luke murmured, eyes still focused on Willie. 

“I can’t blame you for not trusting me, all I ask is you give me a chance.” Willie offered them a small smile as he fidgeted with his bracelet. 

Alex quickly pulled Willie into their hug, watching as Reggie was quick to wrap an arm around the new boy. Luke hesitated for a moment before conceding and giving their little group an awkward squeeze.

“Come on, let’s formally introduce you to the other’s and clue them in on how you helped me not die tonight.” Alex laughed, herding the other three boys back into the Molina residence, not even bothering to check for his family behind him. He didn’t need them anyway, he had a better and more loving family just ahead of him, along with a night full of storytelling ahead of him. 

“Make sure we don’t leave out my part in this, right?” Reggie murmured, his chin hooking over Luke’s shoulder to stare at Alex. 

“Of course not, babe, you also get the joy of explaining whatever the hell banishment is.” Alex gave him a pointed look and the vampire gave a guilty smile. 

“We can definitely leave that for last though, right?” 

“Sure, love, whatever you want.” Alex rolled his eyes, shooting Willie a  _ ‘can you believe the shit I put up with?’  _ look. They walked into the garage, their friends bounding over to them to wrap them up into the arms. It was gonna to be a long, but wonderful night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, catch me on tumblr or twitter at prettyghostboys!! I've been wrapped up in a lot of one shots lately from my requests on tumblr, along with some random ideas that extended from writing the one-shots, so feel free to check those out on here too!!


	12. Interruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue of sorts!! 
> 
> Julie has a discussion and thinks over her friends--her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter in this story if you noticed I did change the chapter amount, although it won't be the final story in this universe. I've decided to continue on within this universe, I have some ideas for some potential one-shots and a few short multi-chapter stories. 
> 
> I really enjoyed writing this chapter, just writing this story in general, so I hope you guys like this one!!! I'll talk more in the end notes so you all can get on with your reading.

“Your new friend sounds like he fits right in,  _ mariposa _ .” Julie let out a laugh as her mom attempted to brush a stray curl behind her ear. The two of them were sitting in a small greenhouse they had installed on their family’s land. It’s original purpose was to give her mother more room to garden, but ended up doubling as her burial site, just meters away from the Molina’s family plot. Julie had always thought it was a weird tradition to be buried on the family property, but since having picked up necromancy she began to understand.

“Mama, I admire your commitment to brushing my hair away, but I haven’t mastered making you solid yet.” 

“I know, but it was worth a shot.” Rose’s phantom form grinned at her, making the faint purple glow around her seem just the slightest bit brighter. “You’re doing exceptionally well, darling. I’m glad you’re able to summon me and give me updates on your life and such. You’re so talented!” 

“Thank you, mama. I don’t think I’d be able to do this without any of them.” Julie admitted, toying with her fingers. “I love them all so much, it just seems crazy that Alex has only been here for a few months, y’know? I feel like I’ve known him for years, same with Willie. They just fit right in with everyone, like you said, it’s crazy.” 

“Maybe not crazy,” Rose’s hand hovered just barely away from Julie’s cheek. “Fate has a funny way of weaving her stories.” 

“You always say that and I never quite know what you mean, mama.” One of the butterflies that had made home in the greenhouse flutters over, resting itself on Julie’s cheek where her mother’s hand was.

“I mean, my darling, that sometimes people click because the universe intended for them to be together, like soulmates, but that’s for you to figure out.” Her mother’s form begins to flicker slightly, her purple halo weakening. 

“Sorry, mama. Might’ve pushed myself a bit too hard in that fight, I’m still not too good with longer lasting or larger spells.”

“It’s alright sweetie, rest up. I’m confident that one day you’ll be able to fully summon me, maybe your new ghost friend will have some tips there. Make sure you tell everyone that I love them and don’t forget that I’m proud of you all and glad you’re safe.” Rose blew her a kiss, offering her a final wink before she vanished. 

“I always do, mama. I always do.” Julie sent a small smile skywards, removing herself from the small greenhouse dome.

As she made her way back to the garage where everyone else was awaiting her, she stretched, feeling her limbs pop as she followed the winding path. Laughter filled the air as she neared the building, causing her to hover a bit aways from the door, not yet ready to enter. 

_ ‘Fate has a funny way of weaving her stories.’  _ Her mom had said. She thought of everything they’d each been through since she met them, the events that  _ caused _ her to meet them. 

Meeting Flynn in kindergarten because Julie’s usually perfectly tied shoes were untied and caused her to trip into the other girl. One magic mishap in elementary school shooting off and turning Carrie’s hair pink in the middle of class, much to the gorgon’s dismay. Meeting Nick was just an extension from meeting Carrie, the two having been attached at the hip from birth, apparently, but him jumping to comfort the angered and freshly-pink-haired girl ended with him getting a bloody nose. How Reggie had ran from home after he was turned, miraculously stumbling through their ward in his haste to distance himself from his family. How when her mom’s condition worsened her friends pulled her to the beach to get her mind off things, how they ran into Luke there, after he’d been kicked out of his clan and had nothing but a couple outfits and a guitar to his name.

If Fate was real like her mother said, she certainly loved to have Julie meet those in her life through mistakes and tragedies. For a moment, she wondered if she was cursed before another round of laughter drew her out of her thoughts.

_ Not cursed,  _ she decided, _ maybe a bit unlucky, but they were all definitely a blessing. _

“You coming?” A voice spoke up behind her, causing her to whirl around with a yelp. There on the ground behind her sat a dog with a small hamster on its head. 

“God, you guys know I hate it when you sneak up on me, especially when you’re not in your human forms!” Julie lectured, watching as Luke shifted from his canine form back into a human, gently lifting the hamster off his head and placing it on the ground, parting with a gentle pat to it’s head. 

“You’re no fun, what’s the point in being animals sometimes if we can’t scare you.” Luke pouted, gently pulling her into his arms. Reggie quickly shifted back into his human form, Julie completely missing his transformation between hamster and human, although she was slightly thankful for that, she never really enjoyed watching their transformations. 

“It was Luke’s idea, just to be totally clear.” Reggie laughed, wrapping his own arms around the two of them. 

“Wow, thanks for throwing me under the bus, asshole.” Luke huffed, rolling his eyes but pressing a kiss to the other boy’s cheek. 

“Asshole, he says affectionately.” Reggie stage whispers to her, causing the girl to let out a bright laugh. 

“You’re both the worst, I’m gonna go cuddle my other significant others who don't hate me.” The werewolf whined, opening the door in front of them and disappearing into the room beyond. 

“Come on, let’s go before Alex and Willie give into his cute little puppy dog eyes.” Reggie’s arm is a welcome weight on her shoulder, she makes sure to press a kiss into his cheek. “What’s that for?” 

“Just wanted to let you know I’m thankful for you.” She smiled slightly, allowing him to lead her to the door. 

“Ah, another one of  _ those  _ conversations with Rose, huh?” 

“Yeah, you know how she gets.” She mumbles to Reggie before turning to the rest of her group of friends.  _ Her family,  _ a voice that sounded suspiciously like the ghost she just spoke to reminded her in her head. “Mom says she loves you guys.” 

“Awe, I miss Rose. Jules we gotta work on that complete summoning spell, I need some good ol’ Mama Rose advice.” Flynn hummed, kicking her feet over the edge of the chair that her and Carrie were sharing, their hands loosely intertwined on her lap. 

“I actually wanted to mention that.” Julie smiled, turning to face their group's newest addition. “Willie, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, or have any sources that may be able to help, would you?” 

“I may be able to find something to help.” He smiled up in return, one hand laced with Alex’s the other threading through Luke’s hair from where the brunette laid across their laps. “From what I hear your mom was super cool and it’d be fun to have another ghost around, maybe we could learn some sweet new ghost tricks.” 

“Rose was the best.” Luke hummed, making grabby hands towards Reggie, who was quick to join the other three boys on the couch. “If she came back as a ghost she’d be able to like touch stuff again right? I miss her baking.” 

“Depends on the spell and if I cast it right.” Julie worriedly tugged on her bracelets, taking the empty chair. 

“No worries, Molina. You’re one of the most talented witches I know, you got this.” Nick called from his spot on the ground beside Flynn and Carrie’s chair. 

“Thanks, Nick.” She grinned, her eyes looking around the room. “By the way, Alex, Willie, I mentioned you to her, she’s excited to hopefully meet you guys. Says it sounds like you fit right in, something about how it must’ve been Fate herself at work.” 

“Yeah.” Alex grinned back at her and she watched as his eyes glossed over all of their friends' faces, focusing on the faces of his three boyfriends last. “I might agree with her there, I don’t think I’d ever have gotten here without some help by Fate.”

The conversation continued on, fluttering through topics and getting to know more about Willie, seeing as he’d only been there for a couple weeks and Julie had tried to give him space and time to adjust. Maybe she wasn’t  _ completely _ sold on the whole Fate thing yet, but she was still very excited for what Fate may have in store for her and her friends, although she wasn’t worried. After all, they always have each other to fall back on and if they can defeat a demon together? Julie’s sure they can get through anything Fate may throw their way. 

She allows her thoughts to drift off, back to the day Alex had stumbled into their lives. She let her gaze shift to the blonde, where he sat with a large grin on his face, his three boys pressed into him. She wiggled her fingers discreetly in his direction, a very small purple puff emanating as little flowers began to grow in his hair. 

“Aw, babe, maybe you aren’t the token human.” Luke laughed, reaching up to pluck one of the flowers out. 

“Huh?” Alex eloquently replied, reaching up to touch the flowers as his gaze moved to Julie. The witch quickly glanced away, whistling innocently. 

“Of course he’s not,” Reggie smiled sweetly, tucking a stray piece of blonde hair behind Alex’s ear. “He’s our muse, obviously.” Everyone cooed as Alex’s face lit up, his other boyfriends grinning at him and nodding their agreement. 

Julie laughed, wiggling her eyebrows to him which made him join in the laughter. All of this, just because Alex Mayweather wanted to prove a point to his family, at seventeen and crossed into her family’s forest. In trying to prove himself to a family he lost, he gained a new one, a brighter and more hopeful family, one that was so full of love. Julie was glad she could be a part of this, knowing deep down that she was closing the book on an era of her life and opening a new one right before her eyes. 

_ I’ll be fine, as long as I have them.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost, you can find me on tumblr at prettyghostboys as well. 
> 
> I feel bad for how long this final chapter took, but I'll be flying back home tomorrow and the anxieties of flying have really gotten to me this past week, but all's gonna be good. 
> 
> I'm definitely looking forward to doing more with this universe, including maybe trying to workshop Bobby into it somehow? I've recently become obsessed with Bobby and Trevor being 2 different people for fanfic purposes, but we'll see. I did leave some stuff open to elaborate on later, such as Nick's accident. So be sure to keep an eye out for those stories in the future!! 
> 
> I'd also like to point out that the title of this story, not sure if I've mentioned it before, is actually from a dodie song!! The song doesn't relate to the plotline of the story, but it does link to how Alex feels towards his parents, specifically his father, within this universe!! I tried to figure out ways to work in some dodie lyrics into this final chapter, but I couldn't figure out how to do it in a way that I was appeased with. 
> 
> As my final message, I would like to thank everyone for reading this and sticking through it, it really means a lot. This was my first large multichapter story that I've actually finished and am pleased with the end product. So thank you all again for dealing with some spacey update times and for putting up with all of my shit in general. It's been a great time!!
> 
> I will be having a Reggie-centric 5+1 things story coming out soon (Reggie x everyone, basically) along with a 'Bad Kids' high school AU one-shot series and eventually a Café AU story that stimmed from the idea of "What if Alex and Reggie worked at a café and Luke had them give him a different name every time he came in until Reggie accidently guesses his name because of his Star Wars obsession" that I've managed to turn into a complete story idea. So keep an eye out for those, as well as prompt fills I've been doing through my tumblr. (Prompt fills are on a minor break due to me moving back home, but I'm still accepting them, it'll just be a bit for them to be filled.)


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